The Twilight Zone
by E. G. Szyslak
Summary: Lightning and Serah Farron move to Bodhum with their adoptive family the Estheim-Katzroys. There, they meet old friends and new, but it soon becomes apparent that not all is what it seems. The Final Fantasy XIII cast star in a Twilight spoof that pretends to take itself seriously. AU. High School. Vampires. Werewolves. Fang/Lightning. Snow/Serah.
1. Chapter 01: Getting Reacquainted

**Apply Standard Disclaimers Here**

**.**

**The Twilight Zone  
****Prologue: Back to Bodhum  
****By: E.G. Szyslak** [12/02/10]

**.**

"Daddy, are we there yet?"

"Not yet, son."

"Mommy, are we there yet?"

"We'll be there soon, Dajh."

"Hope, are we there yet?"

"Soon, like Mom said."

"Serah, are we there yet?"

"Just wait a little longer, okay, Dajh?"

The six-year-old boy pouted, not satisfied with any of the answers he had received. His father saw him through the rear view mirror, laughed and reached back to briefly ruffle his hair. His step-mother gave him yet another piece of candy. His sixth, someone in the car counted. Instantly distracted, the boy grabbed the treat and popped it in his mouth.

His step-brother nudged him and prompted, "What do you say...?"

Dajh's face lit up in understanding.

"Thank you, Mommy!" he managed to say as he gnawed on the hard candy.

"You're welcome, Dajh."

Dajh beamed proudly and grinned even more when a giggle sounded from his adopted sister, who at the moment was doubling as a human chair. Earlier, when they had piled into the car, Dajh decided that, instead of squeezing in like everyone else, he was much more comfortable on someone's lap. So, during the trip, he had been passed between his step-brother and his two adopted sisters.

Serah nudged Hope, mimicking what he had done to Dajh.

"Now you have to teach him not to talk when his mouth is full."

He snorted and responded, "One thing at a time, Serah. Let's just be glad he stopped asking that question."

"Are we there yet?"

Hope sagged in his seat and sighed.

"Or I could do something stupid and get him started again."

Serah adjusted Dajh on her lap and freed her right hand so she could give Hope a sympathetic pat on the arm. She looked to her left and smiled at her sister. Lightning was regarding them with a curious and slightly amused expression, but it brightened significantly when Serah turned to her. Dajh took a sudden interest in the sisters and squeaked when he saw Lightning, as if he had just remembered something important.

"Light!" the boy chirped. "Light, are we there yet?"

Everyone but Sazh, who had to keep his eyes on the road, turned to look at Lightning expectantly, almost like they were silently challenging her to get a different reaction from Dajh.

Lightning calmly took the boy from her sister, settled him on her lap and told him, "If you're quiet for the rest of the ride, we're going to get you a chocobo chick."

Dajh's eyes widened and his face split into a huge grin.

"Really, Light?"

"Really."

He squealed, then he realized he shouldn't be noisy and animatedly clapped his hands over his mouth, making everyone but Lightning laugh.

Sazh adjusted the rear view mirror slightly and smiled at the blonde teenager.

"You really are a clever one, Soldier Girl," he said. "Guess the newest member of the family is gonna be a chocobo. You kids sure you don't want another brother or sister instead?"

Hope groaned in protest while Serah actually seemed pleased with the idea.

"Sazh..." Nora warned her husband, but he just grinned and winked at her.

Lightning shook her head and handed Dajh back to Serah, who then passed him to Hope.

"Not until we get a new car," she said to her adoptive father.

Sazh nodded.

"First thing we're getting."

Dajh began to pout.

"After the chocobo chick," Sazh quickly followed up.

Dajh went back to being happy and quiet.

"Yeah," Hope spoke up, shifting a little in his seat. "Not much room here."

Sazh snickered.

"Good thing you and Serah are so skinny, huh?"

Hope sputtered indignantly.

"I'm not skinny!"

Nora looked over her shoulder and frowned at her son.

"You don't seem to have an appetite latel, Hope. Is there something bothering you?"

Hope huffed, "I'm _fine_, Mom!"

"All right," Nora conceded, though she didn't seem too convinced. "And you, Serah?"

Serah smiled at her adoptive mother and leaned on her sister's shoulder.

"I'm okay."

Lightning wrapped an arm around her sister and pulled her closer.

Serah leaned in and whispered, "How about you, Claire? Are you okay?"

Lightning kissed the top of her sister's head.

"I am, Serah."

Up front, Sazh and Nora conversed quietly, talking about the house and making phone calls to confirm that the rest of their furniture and belongings were already there. Lightning tuned them out and let her sister snuggle closer to her. She looked out the window and stared at the place that was home to them over ten years ago.

* * *

**.**

**The Twilight Zone  
****Chapter 01: Getting Reacquainted  
****By: E.G. Szyslak** [12/03-11/10]

**.**

The next day, Lightning went for a jog alone. Serah and Hope usually came along, but they looked so exhausted yesterday she didn't have the heart to wake them at the ungodly hours of dawn. Besides, she thought, Hope was new to running and Serah needed the rest.

She had to get back soon and help around the house. The family was mostly moved in, but there was still a mountain of boxes that needed to be unpacked. The new house was a considerate improvement over the cramped apartment they had to live in for the past year. They still had to share rooms - Hope with Dajh, her with Serah - but that was something Lightning didn't mind at all.

After just a few hours, she realized she very much preferred the atmosphere in Bodhum, especially the beach. It strangely made her feel wistful that she didn't really remember what it was like to live in this quiet seaside town. She was only five and Serah was only three when they – with their biological parents – moved to Palumpolum.

When Sazh, a retired Guardian Corps pilot, was offered a job to train aspiring pilots, he spoke to her after he found out the facility was located in Bodhum. He was genuinely concerned that she and Serah felt some grief about coming back to the place where they were born. She had urged him to do what was best for the family, assured him there was nothing to worry about, then she thanked him for being so considerate.

She and Serah had lost both their parents. After their mother's passing a year ago – Lightning, fifteen, and Serah, thirteen – they were immediately taken in by the Estheim-Katzroy family despite the glaring financial issues. Sazh was a dear family friend, someone their father had known since his days in the military academy. He allowed them to keep the Farron name and even said they could still call him 'Uncle Sazh' regardless of what papers said. Lightning simply opted to refer to him as 'sir'.

Lightning stopped to catch her breath. She checked the time and decided to head back.

* * *

She wasn't expecting company when she got home, but there they were. Two men, one in a suit and another in a military uniform, having a cup of coffee with her adoptive parents in the living room. Suddenly feeling underdressed in her sweats, Lightning wanted nothing more than to jump in the shower and change her clothes.

"Hey there, Soldier Girl," Sazh greeted her. "Had a good run?"

Lightning walked up to them, discreetly running a hand through the wavy pink hair that fell down her left shoulder.

"Yes, sir," she spoke clearly.

"Lightning, this is General Rygdea Raines," Sazh said, gesturing at the man in the uniform. "He's in charge of the GC training center here in Bodhum. Remember him?"

The teenager eyed the stranger with long brown hair and frowned.

"I'm sorry, I d-"

She was interrupted by the other man, the one with the black hair and the suit.

"So I see little Claire Farron has forgotten all about us," he droned, his voice smooth and deep.

Lightning stiffened at the use of the name that only Serah was allowed to speak nowadays. Almost forgetting her manners, she had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping at him. The man set his cup on the table and rose from his seat. He stretched out his hand, which she reluctantly took.

"Dr. Cid Raines. I'm very happy to see you again, Lightning. Is it still Farron, or...?"

"Farron," was her clipped response.

The man nodded and went on, unfazed.

"We, my husband and I," he said, indicating the other man, who then gave her a friendly wave, "we were good friends with your parents when you lived here. I was still acting General back then and my husband was working his way to Captain... we fell so out of touch with your parents that we didn't hear..." he trailed off, as though realizing he was rambling.

He released her hand and gingerly held her shoulders. She considered shrugging off his hands but bravely stared back at him instead.

"I know you must be tired of hearing this, Lightning, but we're truly sorry for your loss," he said, sounding very sincere. "Your parents were wonderful, amazing people."

Lightning stepped back and away from him, uncomfortable with the amount of emotion he was expressing.

"How did you know them?"

Cid smiled at her fondly, the kind of smile a proud parent would give to their child.

"You and Serah were the best of friends with our Fang and Vanille."

Lightning's brows furrowed at the names. Cid, noticing the troubled expression, tried to reassure the teenager.

"It's all right. You were so young then."

Rygdea rubbed his chin in thought.

"Fang will know who she is in an instant."

Everyone turned to the now smirking man. Even Cid seemed surprised by his own husband's claim.

"You're sure of this," he noted.

Rygdea's smirk grew.

"Why wouldn't I be? She's my little girl."

Cid laughed at the obvious taunt.

"A wager, then, on whether or not our Fang will recognize Lightning here," he proposed as he gave Lightning another warm smile and made his way back to the couch.

"Done deal," Rygdea said.

Once Cid took his place beside his husband, Nora asked, "Do you have other children?"

Rygdea's expression softened.

"No, we don't. Those two are more than enough for us."

"They have interesting names," Nora noted.

"Ahh, yeah," Rygdea mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "We got Fang when she was three and Vanille when she was one. Fang already knew her name and Vanille's, so we couldn't bring ourselves to change them. Actually," he chuckled, stopping briefly to take another sip of coffee, "we were only supposed to take Fang, but she didn't want to go anywhere without Vanille. Even bit me, that little monster."

The rest of the adults laughed. Lightning shook her head and thought then that whoever named Fang must have been able to see into the future. They also must have had a peculiar, malicious sense of humor to give a child a name like that. Wanting no part in a circle of parents gushing over their children, she spoke up.

"May I be excused?" she asked, her eyes immediately drifting to her adoptive parents.

"Of course," Nora answered for both of them.

Lightning turned to their guests.

"It was nice meeting you, Mr. and Mr. Raines."

"Rygdea," the general insisted, that smirk back on his face. "You used to call me Unca Ry-Ry. It was a-do-ra-ble."

Cid sighed at his husband.

"There's no need to tease the poor girl."

Lightning mumbled her gratitude and turned to leave.

"Breakfast is on the table if you're hungry, Lightning," Nora called out.

The teenager's stomach growled in response. She hoped no one else heard it.

"Okay. Thank you..." she trailed off awkwardly, still not knowing how to address her adoptive mother.

Adjusting to the Estheim-Katzroy household wasn't difficult. Sazh and Dajh were already like family to them and Hope had been Serah's best friend since elementary school, but both Farrons had been uneasy around Nora, as it only had been been a year since their mother's death. Lately, though, Serah had begun to really warm up to her. Lightning continued to stumble over it but Nora remained patient and understanding.

As she exited the living room, she heard Cid say, "Such a well-mannered girl, just like her father."

Sazh snorted.

"Then you didn't know him well enough."

"You'd be surprised how well I knew him, Mr. Katzroy," Cid was happy to inform the ex-pilot.

Sazh chuckled.

"Yeah, I don't think so. The man was like a brother to me."

Cid smiled.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Hey," Rygdea cut in, "don't start a new bet when already in the middle of another one. That's just rude."

"Ah, yes, about that..."

Lightning muttered something about soldiers and their weird army friends, then went to see if Serah was awake.

* * *

Serah, as it turned out, was still very much dead to the world. Lightning gave her sleeping sister an amused look and made a beeline for the neat stack of boxes by the wall. She grabbed the one at the corner of the room, carried it to the bed and began to dig through it.

"Claire...?" came a tired voice a few minutes later.

"Good morning, Serah," Lightning responded absently as she continued to search.

Serah sat up and stretched.

"What time is it?" she asked, yawning and rubbing her eye.

"Around eight," Lightning mumbled, still distracted. "Breakfast is ready, but don't go out looking like that. We have guests."

Serah blinked and suddenly looked more awake.

"At eight in the morning?"

"Yes."

"Who? Anyone we know?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

Serah was quiet for a moment, as though wondering what to say next. Instead, she wordlessly slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom. She came out fifteen minutes later, fresh out of the shower. She joined her sister, who was now carefully returning and rearranging some of the things in the box. Her eyes widened when she saw their mother's name on the label.

Lightning was sitting on her bed, a datalog in her hands.

"Did you know Dad's birthday isn't the password anymore?" she murmured as she browsed through the files.

Serah frowned.

"No. I didn't even know Mom changed it."

"Neither did I. Had to guess."

"What is it?"

Just as Serah asked, something flashed on the display screen, a picture that was taken in the beach. In it were her parents, two men she easily identified as Cid and Rygdea, and then four little girls.

Serah, who looked to be around two, was in their father's arm. Cid was holding a timid-looking girl with red hair and green eyes. A four-year-old Lightning stood in front of the group, and there was such was such a big, silly smile on her face she wondered if that was really her. Beside her was a tan girl with messy dark hair and green eyes, scowling at whoever was taking the picture.

"Is that what you were looking for?"

Lightning nodded.

"They," she said, pointing at Cid and Rygdea, "are our guests. The way they talked to me... it sounded like they were really close to us before we moved."

Serah sat down beside her and eyed the picture again.

"You wanted to find proof?"

Lightning felt her sister take her hand and sighed.

"I guess so."

Serah gave her hand a squeeze.

"We look happy there."

"We do," Lightning agreed, closing the datalog and placing it at the very top of the pile in the box.

* * *

Cid and Rygdea had left by the time Lightning got out of the shower. Serah, who insisted on waiting for her, didn't have a chance to meet them. Sazh, Nora and Dajh were already eating when the sisters walked into the dining room. Hope woke up shortly after and joined them, still half-asleep and wearing his pajamas.

"Oh, right, Soldier Girl," Sazh suddenly spoke up, "you promised Dajh a chocobo chick, didn't you?"

Dajh would have squealed if his mouth wasn't stuffed, so instead he bounced excitedly on his chair until he was gently reprimanded by Nora.

"Yes, sir," Lightning responded. "I'll look around town tomorrow."

"How'd you like to go this afternoon?"

Lightning lowered her fork.

"Sir?"

"The Raines' girls are free later. Cid says he's sure they won't mind showing you around the place. Would you like that?"

Lightning's eyebrows shot up at the question. Just like in the car the day before, everyone looked at her expectantly.

"It'd be more convenient," she admitted, then she quickly added, "but don't we still have a lot of unpacking to do?"

"It'll only be a for a few hours, Lightning," Nora reasoned, "and we'll have another day of the weekend to worry about unpacking. You and Serah should go."

The teenager mulled over it for a while, then she finally conceded with a quiet, "Okay."

Sazh grinned, plucked his phone out of his pocket and proceeded to call Cid.

"Can I go, too?" Hope asked.

Dajh squeaked, "Me! I wanna go, I wanna go!"

"Maybe, if you finish your breakfast first," Nora countered.

"Okay, Mommy!"

"You, too, son."

"Mom, I'm fourteen," Hope whined. "Please don't talk to me like I'm six."

"You know you'll always be my baby boy."

"_Mom__!_"

Serah tried and failed to stifle a giggle.

"Be thankful that's as far as it goes, Hope," Lightning coolly advised. "Some mothers say that in public."

Hope stared at his mother in horror.

"Okay, then, Soldier Girl," Sazh chimed as he ended the call, "be ready by three."

Lightning nodded and went back to eating her breakfast.

* * *

It was ten minutes after 3 when the bell rang.

Lightning spent the last hours unpacking the boxes in their room, all except for the one that still sat on her bed. She was going to decide what to do with their mother's things later, with Serah. Her sister was currently trying on her seventh outfit when the bell rang, Lightning counted, and she was sure Serah would have changed again given the chance.

"Do I look okay, Claire?"

Lightning knew to actually look at her sister before responding. For a moment, her eyes fixed on the bracelet around Serah's right arm. She touched her own arm, where a similar bracelet was.

"You look fine, Serah," she said, and she meant it, because all the other outfits looked fine to her. "We're just going to get Dajh a chocobo chick. Do you really need to dress up for that?"

"I just want to look nice."

Lightning gave her sister a curious look.

"You do."

Serah gazed at the mirror one more time, then she turned around and smiled.

"You look nice, too, Claire."

Whatever Lightning was going to do or say next was interrupted by a bellow of, "You girls ready yet?"

"We're on our way down, Uncle Sazh!" Serah answered.

* * *

They found their guests standing outside the front door, engaged in small talk with their adoptive parents. Sazh stepped back when he heard them come down and allowed them a better view.

There was no denying that the two strangers were the little girls they had seen in the photo.

The redhead noticed them first and her face lit up instantly, so unlike the shy toddler that was tucked in Cid's arms. The other girl still had messy hair – longer and messier now – but there was no scowl on her face this time. In fact, she looked a little uncomfortable and confused, but when she saw them – saw Lightning, in particular – she stared.

Lightning stared back, feeling a little uncomfortable and confused herself.

The girl tilted her head. Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"Lightning, Serah," she heard Sazh say, and she even caught some of the hand gesture he made at them. "This is Vanille," there was a pause before the redhead greeted them cheerfully, "and this is Fang."

It was Fang who looked away from Lightning, but only so she could glare at Sazh like he had said something that offended her.

"Claire," she snapped. "Her name is Claire."

Suddenly, they were looking at each other again, and then Fang smiled in a way that made Lightning think of her four-year-old self in the picture.

"Claire," Fang spoke her name again, now with the same familiarity Cid had, maybe even more. "I know it's you."

Serah stepped between them.

"It's Lightning now," she told Fang. "Only I can call her Claire."

Serah was polite, as always, but Lightning knew a threat when she heard it. How strange that her baby sister was being protective of her. It was supposed to be the other way around.

Fang's smile fell. She glanced at Serah and then turned to Lightning.

"Why?" came the blunt question.

Sazh put a hand on Serah's shoulder, easing the girl back and regarding their guests apologetically.

"Your dads must have forgotten to mention that when they told you about us."

Fang frowned at the assumption.

"All they said was to help a new buddy's kids get a chocobo chick."

"Are you girls sure you won't mind taking the boys with you?" Nora asked, wisely changing the subject.

"Not at all, Mrs. Estheim-Katzroy," the redhead, Vanille, spoke for both of them. "Isn't the bird for your youngest son?"

"Yes," Nora confirmed, "for Dajh."

Vanille beamed.

"He has to come with us because we have to make sure the chocobo likes him. Kids are picky but chocobo chicks are even pickier."

Nora seemed impressed with the redhead.

"Do you girls have a chocobo at home?"

Vanille shook her head.

"No pets for us. Fang and I kind of work part-time for Mr. Wes. He owns one of the ranches in town and he's been breeding chocobos for a few years now. He's been making a _lot_ of money since that whole chocobo craze started..." she trailed off, then suddenly went, "Oh, we should go there! We could even go chocobo riding if we have time!"

Sazh and Nora briefly shared a look.

"Well..." Nora started uneasily, "if it's safe for a child Dajh's age..."

"It is, I promise!" Vanille insisted.

Serah even joined in with a promise of her own.

"We'll make sure he's okay."

"And if you're not going to cause any trouble for this Mr. Wes fellow," Sazh went on for his wife, "then, I don't see why not. Sounds like fun."

"Yay!" Vanille cheered, earning a short chuckle from Fang and strange looks from both Farrons.

"We'll get the boys," Nora announced, grabbing her husband and leading him away.

Once the four of them were alone, Fang was elbowed by Vanille.

"Sorry," was the automatic response to the nudge, followed shortly by something more personal and sincere. "Didn't mean to be rude, I just... didn't know."

Serah appeared to consider the apology, then she eventually uttered a soft, "It's okay."

Fang rubbed the back of her neck.

"I'll apologize to the Katzroys, too, when they get back."

Lightning, without an elbow or a nudge from her sister, finally decided to speak to Fang for the first time.

"You don't have to," she said with certainty and finality.

Before Serah or Fang could argue, they were both beaten by Vanille's squeal of delight.

"Yay, we're all okay!" she exclaimed, then she promptly launched herself at the closest Farron, who was thankfully not Lightning.

Serah squeaked in surprise when she suddenly had a questionably affectionate redhead in her arms, but she recovered soon enough and awkwardly returned the hug. Lightning watched the two girls embrace with slight concern. She turned to Fang, silently inquiring if this was normal behavior for Vanille, and she received a yes in the form of a crooked grin.

Vanille, once she was satisfied with the hug, pulled away and gave Serah a quick look over.

"You look so cute in that skirt, Serah!" she gushed, nearly bouncing in excitement. "We should go shopping sometime, and we should take Fang and Lightning with us!"

Fang and Lightning blinked.

"We could dress them up!" Vanille suggested.

Fang twitched.

"And do their hair..." Serah joined in.

Lightning twitched.

Serah noticed her sister's reaction and started to grin, but her amusement disappeared when her eyes darted to Fang.

"Fang," she called out. "I'm sorry for the way I talked to you."

"Aww," Vanille cooed, moving in for another hug. "Let's all just stop feeling bad about this, okay?"

Fang grumbled, "Can't believe they didn't tell me."

Vanille clicked her tongue.

"Because Daddy wanted to prove that you'd recognize Lightning!"

Fang gawked.

"And you do! That means Daddy won the bet. I'm going to tell him right now," Vanille prattled on as she searched for her phone.

"_What__?_"

Vanille froze, finally realizing the latest of the string of mistakes she made under a minute.

"Eep!" she yipped and scrambled behind Serah. "Hide me!"

"_Vanille__,_" Fang growled, looking like she was barely stopping herself from lunging, "you _knew_? And you didn't say anything to me?"

"I wanted Daddy to win," the redhead whined, cowering behind the effective shield that was Serah Farron. "He said he'll buy me whatever I want if he wins but it had to be fair, so I... so I promised to keep quiet about it-" she whimpered when another growl interrupted her, "he said you'd be so happy to see Lightning again you wouldn't care!"

Lightning moved closer to Serah and eyed Fang curiously.

Fang noticed and lost her imposing stance. She sighed at Vanille, who slowly came out of hiding from behind Serah.

Fortunately for Vanille, Sazh and Nora came back with Hope and Dajh. Another round of introductions were made and ended with both boys fixating on Vanille for different reasons, Dajh because the friendly girl in pigtails was just as enthusiastic as he was about getting a chocobo, and Hope because the friendly girl in pigtails also happened to be very pretty.

With some last minutes words from Sazh and Nora, they headed out.

* * *

Lightning was sitting up front with Fang, who was driving. She was grateful to be in the passenger seat since she didn't feel obligated to join in on the slew of chatter coming from the backseat. It was admirable how Vanille and Serah effortlessly kept several conversations going at once, but it was a position she didn't envy in the least.

Fang was quiet, save for a remark or two that even Lightning occasionally gave up.

Dajh pointed at a store they drove by.

"I wanna go there next time!" he told them, which was exactly what he had said about every shop that happened to catch his eye.

Vanille giggled.

"He's really excited, isn't he?"

Hope, sitting between the window and Dajh, shifted and lowered his step-brother's arm.

"It's all new to him," he explained, "you won't see anything like this where we came from."

"Oh! Palumpolum, right?" Vanille chimed.

Hope smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, no small markets there. People do most of their shopping online."

Vanille made a face.

"That sounds _so_ boring."

Serah and Hope laughed, which in turn made Dajh join in. Vanille seemed very proud of herself.

"You're going to love it here in Bodhum," she told them.

When Dajh magically steered the conversation back to chocobos, Lightning turned her attention to the girl beside her. Fang was smiling, most likely amused with the ruckus in the backseat.

* * *

The drive to the ranch was a short one, another thing Lightning was grateful for. Vanille squeezed out of the door as soon as they passed the gate, with Serah, Hope and Dajh in tow. Lightning stayed with Fang until they found a place to park, and some time between that and walking to the rest of the group, she asked a question.

"Are you upset with Vanille?"

Fang slowed down and looked at her, evidently not expecting that.

"No," the brunette answered quickly but sincerely. "Never," she even added, though that was probably a stretch.

Feeling like there was something else Fang was going to say, Lightning remained silent and took the time to discreetly inspect her companion.

The first thing she noticed was Fang's hair, making her wonder if the colors were natural or if it was a trick of the light from the afternoon sun. She clinically noted the blue jeans and the black top that left Fang's arms and midriff bare. The brunette's ears were pierced and she wore a simple necklace with a peculiar pendant. Lastly, there was large tattoo on her left shoulder that nearly covered all of her upper arm. It looked like some kind of animal, but Lightning couldn't figure out what exactly.

"Vanille- Dad," Fang immediately corrected herself, "was right. I'm glad you're back."

Lightning stopped then.

"I don't remember anything about Bodhum."

_I__don__'__t__remember__you__,_ she wasn't able to say.

"Oh," Fang mumbled, "guess you were too young."

"We're the same age," Lightning pointed out.

Age was one of the topics that came up during the drive. They found out that Vanille was fourteen, like Serah and Hope, and that Fang was sixteen, like Lightning.

Fang waved it off.

"It's not the same for everyone. I don't remember anything before Vanille and I were adopted. I don't even remember being adopted."

"That doesn't bother you?" Lightning asked.

"Only when I think about it," Fang said.

They were walking again, towards a large house that actually looked small compared to the open fields surrounding it. The front door swung open and the group was escorted out by a man. Lightning assumed he was the Mr. Wes Vanille spoke of earlier. By the time she and Fang rejoined the group, Mr. Wes had already gone back to his house.

Vanille hurried to them, a big grin on her face.

"Fang, Mr. Wes said we can have a chocobo chick for free!"

Lightning turned to Serah for confirmation.

"He did, Claire," her sister assured her. "He even told us we could take more than one."

"Does he know the chocobo's for Dajh?" Lightning asked, still skeptical.

"He does," Hope answered.

Vanille hopped over to Lightning. The blonde almost stepped back, cautious of a surprise hug.

"Don't worry about it so much, Lightning," the redhead crooned, grinning even more now. "Think of it as a welcome home present from us!"

Dajh tugged Hope's hand.

"Can we have two? Or three?"

Serah patted the boy on the head.

"Let's see how well you take care of one first, okay?"

"Aww, okay," Dajh mumbled, pouting, then suddenly perked up. "Can we get it now?"

"That's up to Light," Hope replied.

Lightning looked at Fang.

Fang gave her a weak grin and a little shrug.

She sighed.

"All right."

* * *

"What do you think of that one, Dajh?"

"Too small!"

"Ooh, that one?"

"Too fat!"

"How about that one?"

"Too fluffy!"

Lightning stared at Dajh as the boy continued to reject every chocobo chick that Hope, Serah and Vanille pointed out to him. Her ears were ringing from the endless chorus of, "Kweh!" inside the coop and her stomach was turning from a stench so horrid she swore she could taste it. While chocobos looked cute, they certainly didn't smell the part.

Serah and Hope looked like they were going to run off and throw up any minute now. Dajh was either immune or simply too busy to be bothered by it. Fang and Vanille, on the other hand, didn't seem affected at all.

"You get used to it," Fang told her, answering her unspoken question.

"_You__get__used__to__it__?_" she croaked, utterly mortified.

Dajh, the fickle little boy that he was, dawdled for so long he exhausted Serah and Hope. The two had to excuse themselves to get some fresh air. Vanille patiently stayed with the boy and remained excited even after they went around the coop several times. By then, Fang managed to convince Lightning to wait outside.

A chocobo chick suddenly took to the air and landed right on top of Dajh's head.

"Oh!" Vanille gasped, astonished.

Dajh froze, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Hello there," Vanille cooed, reaching over to pet the bird.

The chocobo chick flapped its wings.

"Kweeeh!"

"Aww, how cute!"

Dajh squealed, "This one! I want this one!"

Vanille giggled.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell them."

As Vanille called over one of Mr. Wes' employees, Dajh ran to Lightning and Fang and pointed at his head.

"Light, _look_!"

Lightning stared long and hard at the chocobo chick settling in Dajh's hair.

"That's not sanitary," she said.

"Kweh!"

Dajh's brows furrowed.

"What does that mean?"

"It means it's not clean, Dajh," Lightning explained to the boy.

"Kweh!"

Fang cocked a brow at the haughty bird.

"There's a bird bath by the stable," the brunette helpfully pointed out.

The chocobo chick puffed up its feathers.

"Kweh!"

Fang grinned.

"They sell compact bird baths in the shop over there."

"Kweh, kweh, _kweh_!"

Lightning glanced at Fang.

"I think it's going to attack you," she commented.

Fang responded with a rather evil chuckle.

Vanille finished talking to the employee and went over to them. She was greeted by the sight of a smug Fang, an intrigued Lightning, a confused Dajh and a very angry chocobo chick. With a shake of her head, she marched over to her sister and gave her a gentle smack on the arm.

"Fang," she scolded, "stop annoying the chocobo."

Dajh frowned, still not understanding.

"Fang's not annoying the chocobo! She just wants it to take a bath 'cause Light says it's dirty."

"Aww, that's nothing a little bath can't fix, all right," Vanille cooed and leaned over to pet the bird in an attempt to soothe it. "Well, you know, Dajh, this chocobo's all yours now," she informed the boy, opting to change the topic. "It's a girl. What do you want to name her?"

Dajh didn't need time to think.

"I'm gonna let the chocobo decide!"

Fang smirked.

"Kweh," she mocked.

"KWEH!" the chocobo chick protested.

"_Fang_," Vanille reprimanded again, along with a harder smack.

Lightning looked amused.

Vanille shook her head at both of them.

"Don't mind them, Dajh. You name your chocobo when you're both ready, okay?"

The boy beamed.

"Okay, Vanille!"

"Do you still want to go chocobo riding?"

"I do, I do!"

Vanille took Dajh's hand.

"Let's go find Serah and Hope."

* * *

At the stable, they were told that only three chocobos were left available for riding. It turned out Mr. Wes recently sold most of the adults in the flock to an eager buyer in Nautilus. Other than the ones already being ridden, the rest of the chocobos in the ranch were either too young to be ridden or were lethargic females expected to lay eggs soon.

"We could take turns," Serah suggested.

"I'll ride with Dajh," Vanille offered.

Hope cleared his throat.

"Um, none of us know how to do this..."

Vanille patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"I got us a riding instructor, no worries! So, that's three chocobos... when some of you get the hang of it, you can share a chocobo, or we could switch around and-"

Fang nudged Vanille.

"I'll go to the shop and get them the things they need for the chocobo."

Still on Dajh's head, the chocobo chick bounced.

"Kweh?"

Fang waved at everyone and exited the stable.

"You four go ahead," Lightning urged them before Vanille went back to planning.

Serah walked up to her and touched her arm.

"What about you, Claire?"

Lightning gave her sister a small smile.

"I can wait, Serah."

* * *

Around half an hour later, Lightning, standing on the other side of a fence, watched as her sister listened intently to the instructor. Hope was nearby, daring to nudge the chocobo a few steps on his own. Dajh, safe and secure with Vanille, only had to worry giggling and clapping as the redhead skillfully handled the chocobo they were riding.

Fang came back and joined her. Lightning didn't ask why she was empty-handed, determining that she stopped by the car on the way back.

The chocobo chick dizzily flew towards them. It was barely able to land on the fence as it suffered through a bout of motion sickness, no doubt from Vanille's manic chocobo riding.

Fang regarded the bird with genuine sympathy.

"You're stuck with us for now," the brunette grimly informed the bird.

"Kweh..."

The chocobo chick stared longingly at the top of Lightning's head.

"Don't even think about it," she muttered.

The bird switched its pitiful expression to Fang, who snorted.

"Not going to happen."

The chocobo chick bristled.

"KWEH."

* * *

Lightning wasn't sure just how much time had passed, but soon the sun was setting and she was still idling by the fence with Fang.

Serah, now comfortable on a chocobo, trotted over to them, something she had been doing ever since she finally got used to riding without a guide.

"Claire, are you sure you don't want a turn? Hope can take Dajh, and Vanille and I can share a chocobo, then you and Fang could-"

"We're leaving soon," Lightning cut in. "I'll give it a try some other time."

Her sister almost pouted at her, but relented.

"Okay. Next time, then."

Fang waited for Serah to be out of earshot before asking, "Did you change your family name, too?"

"No," Lightning breathed. "Still Farron. Both of us."

Fang leaned on the fence. The chocobo chick was now perched on her shoulder.

"Lightning, huh?" she drawled.

The blonde tensed, preparing for another blunt, 'Why?' from the brunette.

Instead, Fang grinned and quipped, "It fits you."

"It fits me," Lightning repeated, but as a challenge this time.

Fang's grin widened.

"Yeah, you were always a quick one. We used to race and you always beat me. Always. Teased me about it, too. Didn't help that I hated losing..." she trailed off into a little laugh, then she smiled at the blonde. "You called me Shorty, told me I'd never win with my short legs."

Lightning nearly gawked.

"_Shorty__?_"

She was suddenly very, very aware of the fact that Fang now stood two inches taller than her.

She also wondered if she had really been such a rotten child.

Fang's smile faltered as the silence stretched on, then eventually dropped.

Lightning saw it and frowned.

"It's strange," she admitted, "to hear about things I used to say and do from someone I don't remember."

She sighed.

"And it's _frustrating_ that I _can__'__t_."

Fang nodded.

"I'll stop," was all she said, needed to say.

Lightning took a deep breath.

"I appreciate it."

Fang nodded again and they went back to watching the others. Dajh, tired out from all the squealing and laughing, was relaxing by the stalls with Hope. The boys were talking to the instructor and feeding treats to the two resting chocobos. Vanille was helping Serah get on a chocobo that had just taken a break.

The chocobo chick hopped off Fang's shoulder.

"Kweh-kweh," it chirped at them as if to say goodbye, then it flew back to Dajh and the safe haven that was the boy's hair.

Fang chuckled and waved at the bird before turning to Lightning.

"Hey, Lightning," she was called.

"Call me Light," she decided, and she didn't need to look to know that Fang was smiling.

"Think they've had enough fun yet?" Fang asked.

Lightning heard Serah laugh just then, the kind of laugh she hadn't heard in a while.

"Maybe a few more minutes," she said.

They ended up staying for another hour or so.

**.**

**Note:**

This is a Twilight spoof. A spoof, a ridiculous imitation, as one definition states, only it's not funny.

The title is ripped off from the American television anthology series created by Rod Serling.

Reversed canon, turned Bodhum into the old-fashioned town with markets and made Palumpolum out to be a typical, modern Cocoon city where online shopping is the norm.

The, "Hey, Light," and, "Call me Light," between Fang and Lightning is the exact exchange they had in canon, during Chapter 7 of the game.


	2. Chapter 02: First Day of School

**Apply Standard Disclaimers Here**

**.**

**The Twilight Zone  
****Chapter 02: First Day of School  
****By: E.G. Szyslak** [01/04-12/12]

**.**

With Dajh appeased and the chocobo officially made part of the family, the Estheim-Katzroy household spent the next day getting settled in their new home. For most of the day, they worked on unpacking the rest of their things and moving furniture about, and when night came, they drove to a nearby restaurant and enjoyed a delicious seafood dinner.

"Ahh," Sazh happily sighed, leaning back against his chair and patting his belly as they waited for dessert. "Food here is as good as I remember."

"I like the fish!" Dajh declared, prompting Sazh to chuckle and ruffle his hair.

The chocobo, hiding in Dajh's hair, didn't appreciate that.

"Kweh!"

"You've been here before, Uncle?" Serah asked.

Sazh beamed and nodded.

"A few times in my youth," he said. "Bodhum had the best seafood in Cocoon then. Still does now, I'll bet! If you kids think this was good, wait until I take you to the really fancy restaurants, like David's!" He then snapped his fingers and exclaimed, "When I get my first paycheck, that's what I'm doing!"

Nora laughed and affectionately patted her husband's arm.

"A new car for the family first, dear," she said, repeating Lightning's reminder from two days ago.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," Sazh easily conceded, giving Lightning a reassuring smile. "Speaking of cars..." he started to say, catching the teenager's attention, "what do you think of the ol' Vega 42, Soldier Girl?" he asked, referring to the family's car. "She's a bit rough around the edges, but she'll get you where you need to go-"

"- except when she doesn't get enough TLC," Lightning finished for him, as he had said the exact words about his beloved Vega 42 many, many times.

"Got that right, Soldier Girl!" Sazh praised heartily. "Take good care of her and she won't let you down. That's the mark of a quality vehicle. Now, with a new engine, some upgrades and a fresh coat of paint, she'd be running like a dream and looking as good as new, huh?"

"Sir?" Lightning asked, knowing what he really meant but uncertain of how she felt about it.

They were briefly interrupted when a couple of waiters brought their desserts. Hope politely offered to take care of Dajh and promised he wouldn't let the boy choke on the chocolate cake. Sazh glanced at Nora, who smiled, then turned back to Lightning with a smile of his own.

"Soldier Girl, when we get a new car, I want you to have the Vega 42."

Serah's eyes went wide and she quickly looked at Lightning.

"Sir, I..." Lightning began, and it was all she could manage.

She would have gone on to say she felt undeserving of the offer because she remembered her mother once mentioning that Sazh intended to give the Vega 42 to Dajh when he turned sixteen. Instead, she trailed off into an uncomfortable silence, feeling that it would have been an inappropriate thing to say.

Sazh, seemingly able to sense her distress, placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle pat.

"You can give me an answer after I get her all nice and fixed up for you, okay?" he said, his tone light and playful. "And, I admit, I have an ulterior motive, Soldier Girl. Giving you the Vega 42 also means giving you a load of the driving duties. I'm pretty sure that between you and me, Serah and Hope are going to ask you for a ride first."

"Oh, that does sound nice," Serah agreed, looking like she was already scheming.

Sazh chuckled.

"I'd say no boys," he teased, "but I've got a feeling that won't be a problem."

"No boys," Lightning growled at Serah, who petulantly stuck her tongue out.

Hope, who had been listening to the whole conversation, seemed to have gotten an idea.

"Would you teach me how to drive, Light?" he asked.

"Hope," Nora chided.

"Aww, Mom, just a few pointers," he whined. "And we'll be safe! Won't we, Light?"

"Me, too, me, too!" Dajh squealed, not allowing Lightning to answer. "I like it when Light drives. Sooo fast! Zoom!"

The chocobo poked its head out.

"Kweh!" it chirped happily.

Hope, forgetting his own question, laughed.

"I thought cars went vroom and planes went zoom, Dajh," he remarked.

"Light makes cars go zoom," the boy insisted, his expression completely serious.

Lightning looked at the happy, hopeful faces around her and eventually relented.

"I'll think about it, sir," she said to Sazh, which, to everyone else in the family, seemed as good as a yes and a thank you.

* * *

Later that evening, there was a gathering – comprised of Hope, Dajh and the chocobo - in the Farron sisters' room. Hope was currently attempting to cajole the chocobo with a handful of bird seed. The chocobo didn't even wait for Dajh's encouragement before it darted out of the boy's hair and gracelessly landed on Hope's hand.

The Farron sisters, who were occupying Serah's bed, had different reactions as they watched the boys on the floor.

"Aww," Serah cooed.

"That chocobo better be housebroken," Lightning muttered, pausing in her task of brushing her sister's hair as she regarded the new family pet rather critically.

"Vanille told me she wouldn't use Dajh's hair as a toilet, at least," Serah quipped, giggling. "She said she thinks of it as a nest, and chocobo are smart enough not to soil where they sleep." Glancing at the trio on the floor once more, the younger Farron then remarked, "She seems to know where to go for that."

"Yeah," Hope affirmed. "Had no trouble after I showed her where to go last night."

Lightning quietly eyed the chocobo for a moment longer.

"As long as she knows not every head in this house is a nest," she said, and as she resumed brushing to Serah's hair, she added, "She smells terrible."

"Does she need another bath already?" Hope asked, bringing the chocobo closer to his face and sniffing.

The chocobo nearly choked on a seed and squawked in protest.

"Kweh, kweh!"

Hope chuckled and patted the flustered animal's head.

"I thought chocobos liked water," Lightning drawled.

Serah giggled.

"Not when it comes with shampoo that smells like strawberries, it seems. Oh, look how fluffy it's made her!"

"I like fluffy and strawberries!" Dajh chimed, sniffing the now bristling chocobo and cooing happily at the pleasant smell.

"Kweh!" the chocobo sputtered.

Lightning huffed.

"She isn't going anywhere near my hair," she declared, a clear warning in her tone.

"I think you're safe, Light," Hope assured her with a cheeky grin. "She seems to prefer curly hair."

"She was trying to get on Uncle's head this morning when Dajh was still asleep," Serah added, and Lightning let out another huff, but seemed convinced. The younger Farron then went silent, looking thoughtful, and a moment later, she leaned on her sister and murmured, "I'm nervous about tomorrow."

Lightning, taking the cue, set down the brush and eased Serah into a more a comfortable position.

"Are you feeling sick, Serah?" she asked, resting her back against the wall and holding her sister securely. "Or is this about school?"

"School, mostly," the younger Farron replied, laughing shakily. "I think it's finally sinking in that we've moved here, in this new house, in this new neighborhood, where there's a new school. A new school," she repeated, "and it's a month into the semester. This is going to feel like the first day of freshman year again, isn't it?" Serah laughed again, then added, "But it's going to be a lot more awkward, and with a few less friends."

Lightning rolled her eyes and gently poked a particularly ticklish area on Serah's side, causing her sister to squeak.

"Don't worry about it so much."

"That's easy for you to say, Claire. You're weird," Serah griped, then sighed and shook her head. "I'd be more nervous if I were you. I can't imagine going through this as a junior, but Fang's a junior, too, so at least you know someone. Knowing you, though, you'd still probably do something weird like go off on your ow- eek!" she suddenly squeaked when she received another poke. "Stop that!"

"I wanna tickle Serah, too!" Dajh exclaimed, running to the bed and getting ready to climb on it.

Lightning held out a hand to stop him.

"No more tickles for Serah today, Dajh," the elder Farron told the boy. "She has a stomach ache."

Dajh gasped, his eyes going wide.

"Is it because she's nervous?" he asked, and then, with a brave expression, he looked at Serah. "Don't be nervous, Serah! It's gonna be okay!"

Serah laughed and gave Dajh a hug and a kiss.

"He's right, you know," Hope said, and when the chocobo had eaten all the seeds in his hand, he joined them on the bed.

The chocobo made a sound – one that suspiciously could have passed for a burp – and resumed its rightful place in Dajh's hair.

"Yeah, it won't be so bad," Serah agreed with Hope. "Vanille's a freshman, too, and she promised she'll help us get around the school tomorrow."

Dajh's face lit up.

"I like Vanille!" the boy crowed.

"That was really nice of her," Hope whispered.

Serah noticed the infatuated look on Hope's face and shook her head.

"You should watch what you say about Vanille when Fang's around," she warned him.

Hope blinked, snapping out of his little daze.

"Huh? Why?"

"I know an overprotective sister when I see one," Serah said, quite knowingly, "and Fang looks like the type who would chase a boy up a tree."

Hope gaped.

"You really think she'd do that?"

Serah nodded.

"Claire's done it."

Lightning rolled her eyes.

"Serah, that little-"

"His name was Dover, Claire," Serah helpfully pointed out.

"I don't care," Lightning responded bluntly. "I didn't chase him up a tree. He ran to it and tried to climb it. That's not my fault."

"You scared him!" Serah exclaimed.

Lightning scoffed.

"All I did was look at him."

"He was five, Claire. It didn't take much to scare him."

Hope stared at Lightning, looking horrified.

"You scared a little kid, Light?"

Dajh blinked.

"Light isn't scary!" came the painfully innocent statement.

"Kweh!" the chocobo disagreed.

The trio had Serah laughing for nearly a minute, which actually made Lightning let out a short, soft laugh of her own.

"Claire's not that mean, Hope," Serah wheezed when she was finally able to talk. "This happened when we were kids," she went on, having recovered from her giggling fit but still smiling widely. "Our parents took us to the park and I met Dover in the playground. He-"

"He pushed you," Lightning cut in.

"He tripped and knocked me over, Claire."

"I know what I saw, Serah."

"Then you saw wrong. He tripped."

"You don't know that. Your back was turned on him."

"He went, 'Ack!' No one goes, 'Ack!' when they push someone."

"He only did that to make it look like an accident."

Hope looked on in mild amusement as the Farron sisters continued to bicker, each retort more absurd than the last. Dajh occasionally chimed in with more child-like remarks, the most recent one being how cuddly Lightning was, something the chocobo also disagreed with.

Just when it seemed like Lightning and Serah were about to resort to tickling and name-calling, the door opened and revealed Sazh and Nora, drawing everyone's attention and putting a stop to the quarreling sisters.

"Hey, kids," Sazh greeted fondly. "Hate to stop the fun, but it's getting late and tomorrow's a school day."

"Bedtime?" Dajh asked.

"Bedtime," Nora confirmed with a smile.

"Okay," Dajh said, and he crawled over to Serah and kissed her cheek, "G'night, Serah," he murmured, and then he went to Lightning and did the same. "G'night, Light."

Not waiting for a response, the boy eased off the bed and, after checking on the chocobo, he ran to Sazh and Nora.

"You, too, Hope," Nora called.

Nodding, Hope and glanced at Lightning and Serah.

"'Night, you two," he said, and when the sisters responded in kind, he stood up and excused himself, squeezing past Sazh and Nora and heading to his room.

Sazh turned to Lightning and Serah, smiling.

"Don't forget to close that window," he reminded them, gesturing at the lone yet fairly large window in the room.

"I'll get it, sir," Lightning responded.

After exchanging one last good night, this time with Sazh and Nora, the couple took Dajh and left. Serah, who seemed quite comfortable, reluctantly sat up and scooted over to give Lightning room to move. Lightning, catching the slight wince that Serah tried to hide, gave her sister a sympathetic squeeze on the shoulder before walking to the window and closing it.

As she made her way back, Serah looked at her with a pout.

"I know I've already complained," the younger Farron started, "but can I do it one more time?"

"Okay," Lightning agreed easily as she sat back down on the bed.

"It's just... ugh, the timing is horrible," Serah bemoaned. "It's bad enough going to a new school in the middle of a semester, but to be on my period, too? It's not fair."

Lightning, not knowing how else she can help, put an arm over Serah's shoulders and held her close.

"Are the cramps really bad?" she asked, worried.

"It hurts a little more than last time," Serah murmured.

Lightning frowned.

"Even on pain relievers?"

"I took one this afternoon, around three," Serah said, then glanced at the clock on the wall to check the time.

Lightning followed her sister's gaze.

"You can take another one now," she decided, then she got up and swiftly fetched a glass of water.

Serah took the medicine, drinking most of the water. Lightning set the glass aside and reached for one of the two bottles of pills that Serah had placed on the bedside table.

"Did you take an iron pill at dinner?" she asked.

"I did," Serah replied.

Lightning nodded, placing the bottle back on the table.

"You have gym with me tomorrow," she absently mentioned, having already memorized Serah's schedule along with her own.

"I'll sit out if the pain is too much," Serah promised.

"If it gets even worse, tell Nora," Lightning implored.

"I will, Claire," Serah assured her.

Satisfied with the answer, Lightning smiled.

"All right," she said. "Good night, Serah."

Serah stood up and hugged her.

"Good night, Claire."

Lightning smiled a little more and happily hugged her sister back. When they let go, she waited for Serah to settle under the covers before she going to her own bed.

* * *

"Well, here we are," Sazh announced as he stopped the car in front of the school and brought it to the ground.

In the backseat, Serah nudged Hope awake. Lightning, sitting up front with Sazh, opened the door and stepped out, prompting the two younger teenagers to follow suit. They all said their goodbyes to Sazh, who smiled warmly.

"I know being the new kids in town isn't exactly the best feeling in the world," he said, looking at Serah first, then at Hope, "but you kids try to have fun, hm?"

With that, Sazh drove off, and the three teenagers began to walk to the school's entrance.

"Looks nice," Hope remarked, admiring the greenery surrounding the school buildings, which weren't very green in autumn, but it looked nice nonetheless. "It's smaller than Palumpolum High, but it's got more space, has bigger fields, and it's not too far from the beach. I wonder how many students sneak out to go for a swim."

"Ooh, a beach," Serah chimed, not seeming to process anything else Hope said. "We should go there soon! Maybe this weekend?"

"Maybe," Lightning echoed absently, adjusting the shoulder strap of her bag as she eyed the students idling in the parking lot. "Didn't you say Vanille was supposed to meet you here?"

As soon as she asked, Lightning found Vanille standing next to a car - Fang's car, she instantly identified - and it looked like the redhead was searching for them. Before Lightning could tell Serah or attempt to get Vanille's attention herself, the redhead saw them and hurried over.

"Hi, guys!" Vanille greeted them, chipper as ever.

"Hey, Vanille," Hope responded, a slight quiver in his voice.

"Wow," Vanille breathed as she approached them "the pink hair really stands out in a crowd."

"It does," Serah acknowledged with a nervous laugh, quite aware of the looks they were getting from other students who passed by.

Lightning noticed a boy who was staring a second too long for her liking. She calmly looked him in the eye, and when he began to shift his gaze to Serah instead, she narrowed her eyes at him. After that, he wisely chose to stare at his feet instead.

"Where's Fang?" Serah asked, searching the crowd for the brunette.

Vanille made a face, something Lightning had seen on Serah when it came to a certain thing.

"I don't know," the redhead airily replied with a shrug. "These two guys were telling me how cute and pretty I looked. They wouldn't stop, so Fang chased them off."

"Up a tree?" Hope blurted out, and Serah just barely stifled a laugh.

"Up a tree?" Vanille parroted, blinking.

"N-nothing!" Hope hastily stuttered.

Giggling, Vanille linked her arm to his.

"You're funny, Hope," she cooed.

"Yeah," he chuckled, though it sounded more like a croak. "Funny."

"Come on," Vanille urged, beckoning Lightning and Serah to follow as she began to tug Hope to the direction of the school building, "I'll show you guys to your classes. What do you have for first period?"

* * *

"It's been okay so far, huh?" Hope said as second period ended.

Serah, who was in the class with him, gathered her things and stood up.

"It has," she agreed. "Everyone's been friendly."

"Yeah," Hope chuckled, following Serah's lead and standing up as well. "Maybe Mom was right when she said moving may be good for all of us. Though, Light's going to be disappointed when I tell her she might not have to save me from bullies in this school. Remember Faith?" he asked as they began to head to the door.

Serah paused briefly and blinked.

"That senior who really hated you for no reason? That Faith?"

"Yeah, that one," Hope confirmed, chuckling again. "Remember when she accidentally shoved you because you were walking next to me?" He shook his head and murmured in awe, "I still can't believe Light punched her."

"I still can't believe Faith dared her to do it again," Serah quipped with a shake of her own head.

They had just stepped out of the room when they heard a happy squeal of, "There you are!" and then Vanille seemed to come out of nowhere and pounced on Hope.

"Ack!" Hope yipped, but that yip quickly turned into a gulp when he turned and saw how close Vanille was.

"Hi, Hope!" she greeted brightly, as if their faces weren't just inches apart. "Let's go out!"

"W-what?" he croaked.

"To lunch," Vanille said, switching her big smile to Serah. "All of us!"

"All of us?" Serah repeated, confused.

Vanille nodded and stepped aside to reveal that she had Fang and Lightning in tow. Lightning, who looked like she had also been ambushed as she was leaving her own class, was giving Vanille a questioning look.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Vanille beamed at her.

"To NORA's! It's a beachside cafe. Fang and I eat lunch there most of the time," the redhead explained. "And it's where we hang out sometimes, too."

Lightning looked at her sister.

"Do you want to go, Serah?"

"I do," Serah eagerly answered.

"Then we'll go," Lightning decided.

"Yay!" Vanille cheered.

"NORA?" Hope echoed belatedly, brows furrowed.

"Ohh, that's right," Vanille droned. "That's your mom's name, isn't it? Oh! You should take her there one day! They say anyone named Nora gets a free meal and I want to know if it's true."

"Van," Fang gruffly called, grabbing the redhead's wrist and pulling her away from Hope. "Chat in the car, yeah? We won't have a table if we don't go now."

"Oh, yeah," Vanille said, looking sheepish for one moment and then looking determined the next. "Well, come on, let's go!" she urged, taking Fang's hand, and then proceeded to yank the taller teen down the hall.

As they followed those two, Serah looked at Lightning.

"Did Vanille surprise you, too?"

Lightning's expression didn't change.

"No."

Serah grinned.

"She did, didn't she? Did you squeak like Hope did?"

"Hey!" Hope protested.

"Guys, hurry up!" Vanille shouted from the end of the hall.

While Hope walked faster, Serah kept grinning at Lightning.

"No," the elder Farron calmly repeated.

"Mmm-hmm," Serah hummed, reaching for Lightning's hand and tugging her along.

* * *

A short drive later, they arrived at the cafe, which was already half full with students. When they walked inside, they were approached by a good-looking, blue-haired young man, his uniform adorned with many accessories, most notable of which were the bird feathers.

"Vanille, Fang," he greeted them, his tone friendly and familiar. He noticed Lightning, Serah and Hope and, with a charming smile, he said, "Oh, and I see you brought friends today. A table outside, as per usual, yes?"

After checking with Serah, Vanille answered for the group.

"Yes, outside," she confirmed with a smile of her own. "And don't worry about us, Yuj. We'll find a table on our own."

The waiter, Yuj, chuckled.

"Of course," he drawled, though it was clearly in good nature. "One of us will see to you shortly to take your orders, unless your friends would rather order from our snack bars? Or maybe they would like some drinks?" he said, gesturing at the various food and beverage counters set up in the large establishment.

"Drinks, maybe," Vanille replied, eyeing the juice bar in particular, "but we're ordering." She turned to Lightning, Serah and Hope and whispered, "They cook food really fast here. It's like fast fancy food!"

"And you know what they say, the customer is always right," Yuj quipped as he handed Vanille some menus, apparently having heard her, "especially the pretty ones who have pretty friends," he added, giving the rest of the group an appreciative look, lingering a little on Hope and then even longer on Serah.

Fang snorted.

"Does that ever work?"

"Every time," Yuj purred, and with a wink, he went on his way.

Vanille shook her head and grabbed Fang by the arm as she began to lead the group outside.

"You know he just does that to tease you, right?" she told Fang. "Kind of like those boys this morning."

Fang scowled and grumbled, "Doesn't make it less annoying."

"Are you friends with him?" Serah asked about Yuj, voicing what Lightning had been wondering about since the young man had first spoken to them.

"We are," Vanille cheerfully answered, "and with his siblings, too. We ate here when it first opened two months ago - around the same time the semester started, actually - and Fang and I have been coming here ever since. You guys should meet them when they're not so busy. They live here, too, on the second floor. Isn't that great? Sometimes I stop by after school, and Fang usually runs into Snow and Gadot in the gym."

By the time Vanille finished talking, they found an empty table and settled down.

"Siblings?" both Serah and Hope prompted.

"Yuj runs the place with his brothers and sister," Vanille explained. "They're not siblings by blood, though. I don't know the whole story, just that they all came from the same orphanage in Eden and had the cafe built here over the summer. Maqui's the youngest one and he's a freshman in our school."

"I think I had first period with him," Serah said. "Does he have blond hair and amber eyes?"

"That's him," Vanille confirmed. "I usually ask him to eat lunch with us here but he never wants to. Weird, huh?"

"Maybe he wants to eat something different?" Hope guessed.

"Maybe," Vanille considered, "but Lebreau's a really good cook. I'm sure she could make whatever he wants."

"Speaking of food," Fang chimed, "we should think about what we want to order, yeah?"

"Oh! We should," Vanille agreed, handing out the menus Yuj had given her.

The table went quiet as everyone but Fang browsed the menu. Lightning did one quick scan and immediately went back to the impressive list of pasta dishes. Hope occasionally asked questions, which Vanille happily answered. Serah seemed to have immediately found what she wanted and stared at it a long while before she finally spoke.

"The steak looks good," the younger Farron murmured.

Fang grinned, looking pleased.

"It is. I'm having oretoise."

"You always have oretoise," Vanille gently teased.

Fang preened.

"I do. And you always have flan."

Just then, Yuj walked up to their table.

"I see you two are having the usual," he said, chuckling. "What is everyone else having?"

It took a few more minutes for Hope to decide. Serah opted to try steak, though of a different meat, while Lightning eventually decided which pasta dish she wanted. After confirming their orders, Yuj gathered the menus and disappeared back into the cafe.

The doors had barely closed when two muscular men passed through, both of them easily handling two full food trays in each hand. They were wearing uniforms similar to Yuj, minus the accessories. Hope, given where he sat, was the first to notice them.

"Are those Yuj's brothers?" he asked, prompting the rest of the group to look.

"The one with the mohawk is Gadot," Vanille pointed out, indicating the slightly shorter of the two with tan skin and a broader build. "And the one wearing a bandana is Snow."

Snow, a tall, handsome blond, smoothly set down a tray and grinned winsomely at the people on the table. The women giggled and one of the three men at the table appeared utterly charmed by the waiter.

"Wow," Serah breathed, staring blatantly at Snow. "How old do you think he is?"

"Too old for you," Lightning snapped.

"He says he's eighteen," Fang said.

Lightning scoffed.

"Twenty-eight, more like," she muttered, which made Fang snicker.

"Stop it, you two," Vanille chided them both, swatting Fang on the arm for good measure. "It's okay, Serah. He has that effect on most people," she told the younger Farron. "If they aren't here for the food, they're here for a Villiers, usually Lebreau, Snow and Yuj."

Before anyone could even think of asking what Lebreau looked like, the doors swung open again and out stepped a gorgeous, pale-skinned young woman with black hair and beautiful amber eyes. The woman, who must have been Lebreau, met up with Snow and Gadot as they were heading back. The three of them spoke briefly, and then Snow and Gadot ran to the back of the cafe, likely to fetch something, and Lebreau went back inside.

"Wow," Hope mumbled, his eyes firmly fixed at the closed doors, as if wishing Lebreau would come out again.

"Want me to introduce you to her after school?" Vanille offered, smirking.

"Ye- no! No!" Hope blurted, flailing haplessly. "I wasn't- I didn't mean to- it was just... wow, her uniform was, uh... it looked really tight and I, ah, wondered if she was uncomfortable in it."

"Sure, you did," Fang drawled, snickering again.

Lightning, noticing the severe blush on Hope's face, mercifully changed the subject.

"Do they all have the same eye color?" she asked.

"That's weird," Vanille murmured. "Fang said the same thing when we met them, except she said it to them directly." She was briefly interrupted by an indignant protest from Fang, who insisted it had not been a rude thing to do. "Anyway, yes, they do," the redhead continued, finally answering the question. "It's just a crazy coincidence."

"That's kind of strange," Hope remarked.

Serah simply nodded, clearly distracted, likely keeping an eye out for Snow. Lightning seemed to be aware of this, but before the elder Farron could get a word in, Vanille spoke up.

"Want some drinks while we wait, guys?"

In a matter of seconds, it was decided that Vanille, Serah and Hope would get the drinks and that Fang and Lightning would stay at the table.

"She better not be taking Serah to that waiter," Lightning muttered when the three younger teenagers went inside the cafe.

"Might be. Sneaky one, that girl," Fang told her, but then looked at her with a reassuring grin. "Doubt Snow's inside, though. Looked like Lebreau sent him off to get something for the kitchen."

"When the food arrives and those three aren't back yet..." Lightning started.

"We're dragging them back here," Fang finished, laughing. "I like the way you think, Light."

Lightning smiled a little, pleased that Fang remembered to call her Light now. She looked at Fang, noticed that the brunette was again wearing a simple tank top and then she noticed something she completely missed before. There was another tattoo on Fang's other shoulder, only this one looked strange. It was white and faded, like someone had tried to erase it, but she could make the arrow-like shapes at the top and bottom and a peculiar sort of eye at the center of the tattoo.

"Has that always been there?" she murmured, wondering out loud more than she was asking.

Fang blinked.

"Huh?" the brunette mumbled, following her gaze. "Oh, that. Yeah, that's always been there."

This time, it was Lightning who blinked.

"Always?" she echoed, confused. "I meant that I didn't notice it before," she said, looking Fang in the eye now. "Did you mean the same thing, or are you saying you've had this tattoo since you were a child?"

"Sure am," Fang chuckled. "It's been there for as long as I can remember, and like I said, I don't remember anything before being adopted. My dads told me it was already there when they got Vanille and me."

"I... see," Lightning awkwardly responded, feeling like she had no right to this information, not when she had told Fang that her own past - the one she couldn't remember - was off limits to them both.

Fang looked at the strange tattoo and seemed to glare at it.

"My real parents must have been really screwed up if they did this to me," she muttered, in an angry, bitter tone that was barely restrained, a tone that Lightning had not expected to hear from Fang. "Probably why I ended up in that orphanage," came the late, biting drawl.

Not a second after Fang had said that, Vanille, Serah and Hope came back from the juice bar. Lightning didn't miss how Fang easily smiled when Vanille sat next to her and handed her a glass, as if she hadn't been seething just moments ago.

"Here's your apple juice, Claire," Serah said, sitting beside her.

"Thank you, Serah," Lighting replied, smiling at her sister as she took the offered drink.

Soon, Yuj arrived with their food.

* * *

Lightning walked out of the locker room, dressed and ready for gym, her last class for the day. Other students were heading in as she was going out, as she and Serah had arrived early. Ignoring the curious stares, she went straight to the bleachers, where Serah was sitting.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the nurse's office?" she asked her sister, who, after much prodding, admitted to feeling light-headed and being in pain for most of the day.

Serah gave her a smile that at least didn't look too strained.

"I'll be fine just sitting, Claire. It's not much any different than what I would be doing there," her sister said, grabbing her hand and tugging. "Now, stay here until class starts. I'll read my books later when I get bored."

Lightning obliged, but not before muttering, "You could lie down there."

Serah just hummed and leaned on her, pretending not to hear what she had said. Some of the students were looking their way, as if deciding whether or not to approach them, but ultimately opting to leave them be, which made Serah shake her head.

"Look at you," Serah murmured in amazement, "scaring people already."

Lightning scoffed.

"If someone wants to talk, all they have to do is come here and say it."

Serah laughed.

"You kind of make it hard for people, Claire."

Lightning was about to retort when more students emerged from the locker room. Both sisters looked and immediately saw a familiar face.

"Is that Fang?"

As soon as Serah had asked, Fang saw them and jogged over to them.

"Hey, Light, Serah," came the easy greeting, along with a matching grin.

"Hey, Fang," Lightning replied, then leaned closer to Serah and quipped, "That didn't look so hard."

Serah rolled her eyes, but she was obviously trying not to smile.

"Fang doesn't count."

"I don't count?" Fang echoed

"It's nothing, Fang," Serah told the confused brunette, no longer trying to stop herself from smiling. "Claire's just trying to be funny."

Fang chuckled.

"Looks like it worked."

"Maybe a little," Serah admitted with a half-hearted grumble that turned into a laugh.

Fang looked on with amusement, but her amusement became curiosity when she noticed Serah's clothes.

"Not in uniform, Serah?" Fang asked.

"She's excused from the class today," Lightning quickly said, answering for Serah. "She isn't feeling well."

Fang looked at Serah and blinked.

"Then shouldn't you be in the nurse's office?"

Serah made a face at that and then pointedly ignored the look Lightning gave her.

"I'm fine, Fang," she insisted. "It's just really bad cramps, nothing serious."

"Oh, okay," Fang said, though she didn't sound entirely convinced. "Well, if it gets worse, I can tell my dad. He'd know someone you could see for that."

Serah smiled at the awkward yet endearing offer.

"Thank you, Fang, but I should be okay. Nora's a doctor, too."

"Oh, yeah," Fang mumbled, looking sheepish. "My dad was talking about trying to get her a job at the hospital. Slipped my mind, sorry." A brief, tense pause later, she added, "You know, you can lie down if you go the nurse's office."

Lightning sighed.

"I've told her the same thing."

Fang grinned crookedly.

"Won't listen once she's made up her mind?"

Lightning nodded.

"I doubt even allegedly attractive men twice her age have a chance."

"Ha-ha," Serah drawled, rolling her eyes.

Whatever Fang or Lightning was about to say, it was cut off when the gym teacher's voice rang out.

"All right, people, gather around!" he ordered, his voice heard clearly throughout the entire gym.

The other students began to hurry over to the gym teacher. Lightning and Fang, after being shooed by Serah, easily caught up with the rest of the group. The gym teacher then proceeded to go on a tirade of some sort that lasted around ten minutes.

"I see we have a new face here," the gym teacher had announced. "I'll be giving her a run down of the rules, the dos and the do nots in my gym class. For the rest of you, consider this a refresher. All right, the first rule of my gym class is..."

Serah, bored by the time the sixth rule came around, took out a book from her bag and began to read. When the seventh rule came up, a boy came running in and went directly to the gym teacher. The two spoke briefly and quietly, and then the teacher nodded and the boy turned to leave, looking grateful yet still troubled. As he headed for the exit, he opened his bag and rummaged through it, desperately looking for something, so desperate that he somehow tripped on his own feet and fell over, along with his things.

Serah quickly set her book aside and went to help the boy.

"Are you okay?" she said as she started picking up some of his books.

The boy looked up and grimaced when he saw her.

"Y-yeah," he croaked, sounding like he had trouble breathing.

As he blindly reached for his things and carelessly tossed them back in the bag, Serah finally noticed his blond hair and his amber eyes.

"Oh, you're Maqui, right?"

"I-I am," he wheezed, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, like he was having a terrible headache.

Serah, noticing that he was also shivering violently, reached out to touch his shoulder.

"Are you sure you're all right? You look really pale."

He whimpered when she came closer and stumbled back.

"Yes, I'm fine, I'm fine," he blurted hysterically. "I just... I-I... I really have to go," he stuttered, clumsily grabbing his bag and standing up. "Thank you. For the help," he rambled on, taking more and more steps away from her. "I just- I'm sorry. I really need to leave."

Maqui ran off just as Lightning and Fang reached them.

"Serah, what happened?" Lightning asked as she helped her sister up.

"Huh," Fang muttered, staring at the exit Maqui had taken, "what's with him?"

Serah followed Fang's gaze, then slowly turned to Lightning.

"I don't know," she said to them both.


	3. Chapter 03: Bad Omens, Part I

**Apply Standard Disclaimers Here**

**.**

**The Twilight Zone  
****Chapter 03: Bad Omens, Part I  
****By: E.G. Szyslak** [01/25/12-02/27/12]

**.**

"_Mommy?"_

"_Yes, Claire?"_

"_What's wrong with Fang?"_

"_Did something happen, sweetie?"_

"_Unca Ry-Ry was trying to pick her up and she bit him. I think it hurt 'cause Unca Ry-Ry looked like he was gonna cry."_

"_Oh, dear."_

"_That's what Unca Cid said! And now Fang's sitting there all by herself. What's wrong with her, Mommy? Doesn't she like the beach? Is she angry? Who made her angry? Was it Unca Ry-Ry?"_

"_No, baby, Fang's not angry. Remember, her old home was very far from Bodhum. It's scary to be taken to a different place and be put in a new home with a new family. Fang just needs some time to get used to it."_

"_Is Vanille scared, too? Is that why she cries a lot?"_

"_Yes, but Vanille will be all right. Your uncles are good people, Claire. They'll take care of Fang and Vanille."_

"_But Fang isn't crying and she doesn't look scared. She's the one who looks scary. No one wants to play with her. The other kids are scared she's gonna bite them like she bit Unca Ry-Ry."_

"_Do you think that's true, Claire?"_

"_No, Mommy. I just wanted to ask you what's wrong with her. I'm gonna go ask her to play now."_

"_I think she'd like that. Have fun, sweetie."_

Lightning opened her eyes, a small, foolish part of her hoping to see her mother smiling at her. Instead there was the still unfamiliar ceiling of the room she shared with Serah. She wasn't in a beach with her family. She hadn't been speaking to her mother. She wasn't four years old and her mother wasn't there, not anymore.

A dream. It was just a dream.

Slowly, Lightning sat up and rubbed her temples, trying to soothe the splitting headache she was having. She dreamt of her parents often, if not her father's funeral, then her mother's deathbed. But since the move back to Bodhum, the nightmares stopped and the strange dreams began. Even stranger were the brief yet painful headaches she got after waking up.

It had been a week since it first happened. She didn't mind it too much, supposed that it was from stress, that she had been more overwhelmed about coming back to Bodhum than she let on, even to herself. But the headaches didn't linger and there was no reason to give much thought to the dreams. They were, after all, just dreams. They weren't real. They didn't mean anything.

As the current headache passed, Lightning dropped her hand and turned her eyes to the other bed in the room. Seeing Serah still asleep, she then glanced at the alarm clock on the end table between their beds. It was still dark out. The only source of light, apart from the blinking numbers on the clock, was the moonlight that filtered through the window.

4:36 AM, the clock read. Lightning groaned. Between the dreams and the headaches, she utterly despised waking up so early. The worst part was, she could never seem to go back to sleep.

Sighing, she tossed the covers aside and stood up to make her bed. As she was finishing up, a pillow dropped to the floor, right next to her leg. She looked down and saw that it was the one Serah liked to hug in her sleep. Quickly, she picked it up and placed it in her sister's open, waiting arms. Serah, still asleep, smiled widely and happily squeezed the pillow.

Lightning couldn't help but smile as well. She would never hate coming back to this seaside town that she may yet call home. Bodhum had done wonders for Serah, wonders that Lightning knew she couldn't provide. It was nice to see her sister happy again. It was nice to see that her sister could sleep peacefully again.

Pulling the blanket over Serah, Lightning walked to the window and looked outside, her gaze drawn to the moon. When she turned away, the first thing she saw was the outline of a single box in a corner of the room, the same box that contained their mother's things. She and Serah had yet to find a place for their mother's belongings.

Lightning turned back to the window, this time casting her gaze down, to the backyard. Her eyes narrowed. It looked like something was there but when she blinked, it was gone.

A moment later, there was still nothing. Lightning stepped back, turning her critical gaze from outside the window to the window itself. They really needed to get some blinds or curtains for it, she decided.

* * *

Around the same time at the Raines' household, Fang was also awake. She was alone in the living room, her unfocused eyes trained on the television as she absently flipped from channel to channel. When she chanced on a nature documentary about Pulse, it seemed she was either resigned or interested enough to stay there.

"Kiddo?" a worried-sounding Rygdea called as he entered the living room. "It's four in the morning. What are you doing up?"

Fang looked over her shoulder and gave Rygdea a little smile.

"Hey, Dad," she murmured tiredly. "Couldn't go back to sleep."

Rygdea sat beside her on the couch.

"Everything all right, kiddo?" he asked. "You've been having trouble sleeping all week. Is this about school? Did you get a C again?"

"What?" Fang squawked, eyes comically wide. "No!" she sputtered. "Did Vanille say that? She's the one lying this time, I swear!"

Chuckling, Rygdea put an arm around his daughter's shoulders and pulled her in for a quick yet affectionate hug.

"Okay, okay, no C," he said, still laughing a little.

Fang scowled, pointedly fixing her attention back on the television.

"So, if it isn't school," Rygdea went on, "is it your job? You worked late shifts this weekend. We know you like it there, kiddo, but we don't want you losing sleep over it."

"It's just over the weekend, Dad," Fang mumbled.

Rygdea nodded, giving Fang's shoulder a squeeze.

"All right, but if your grades start to slip, no more overtime for you."

"Dad," Fang whined, casting her father a pout and puppy eyes to match, "that's not fair."

"Take it up with your father," Rygdea said, a picture of unwavering innocence. "You know the drill, kiddo. He makes the rules. I'm just a messenger."

Fang grumbled something under her breath and tried to focus on the show. Rygdea, however, refused to be ignored by his daughter.

"Is this about a girl?" he eagerly asked. "Is that what's keeping you up?"

Fang gave her father a strange look.

"Dad..."

"Then it's about a boy?"

"Dad!"

"Don't think I haven't noticed that you've been spending a lot of time with those boys from NORA," Rygdea said, sighing and shaking his head. "What else would a father think when his sixteen-year-old daughter tells him she's going to work out with two men who look twice her age?"

"Snow and Gadot are my friends, Dad!" Fang exclaimed, looking absolutely horrified. "Friends! I don't- I won't ever want to- never in any lifetime- ugh, Dad! Why do you put these things in my head?"

Rygdea drew closer a now unresisting Fang and kissed the top of her head.

"So that you'll never, ever do them, sweetheart," he cooed.

Fang groaned.

"Then do it to Vanille, not me!"

"Noted," Rygdea promised, "but from what I've heard, you've been doing a commendable job at keeping the boys at bay. That's my girl," he happily praised, earning a grin from her. "Don't tell your sister I said that, though," he hastily added. "Now, are you ready to tell me what's going on or do I have to keep guessing?"

"It's nothing," Fang mumbled, though she couldn't seem to look at her father when she said that. "I get enough sleep, Dad. I just wake up early and can't seem to go back to sleep. It's nothing," she repeated.

"Doesn't seem like nothing, kiddo," Rygdea said, frowning. "Why did you wake up early today? Bad dream?"

"It wasn't bad," Fang answered slowly, as if unsure, "just... weird."

"How was it weird?" Rygdea asked, his tone gentle and encouraging.

"I think I..." Fang started, then trailed off in a whisper, "I think I dreamt about my mom."

If Rygdea had been shocked, it didn't show on his face or in his voice.

"What did she look like?" he said, giving his daughter's shoulder a squeeze.

Fang attempted a shrug that convinced neither of them.

"Long hair. Long, black hair. Fair skin," she paused, as though wondering if she should continue. "Green eyes," she murmured. "Green eyes, just like mine."

Rygdea only nodded, leaving it up to Fang to decide whether to stop or continue.

"I've never dreamt about her before," Fang murmured as she leaned heavily on her father. "She looked so sad whenever she looked at me," the teenager whispered, suddenly sounding very tired.

Around 5 AM, Cid walked into the living room and found Rygdea and Fang still on the couch. Fang was asleep, her head cushioned on a pillow that was on Rygdea's lap.

"Ry?" Cid said as he approached them. "Is something the matter?"

Rygdea, who had been staring at the muted television, looked at Cid with a frown.

"She dreamt of her mother this morning," he said, gazing down at their sleeping daughter, "told me that Vanille was there, too. Rest of it seemed vague, though. Thankfully."

"It's a year later than we expected," Cid stated, though his words seemed to offer little comfort to them both.

"Yeah," Rygdea mumbled, nodding. "Yeah," he repeated, his eyes never leaving their daughter. "She said she's been getting headaches. I gave her something for it and she went out like a light."

Cid nodded.

"It must be similar for Claire. Not as severe as Fang's, I suspect, but it will get worse for them both."

Rygdea looked up and grinned wearily.

"Here I was thinking this wasn't going to happen. Got optimistic and everything. Guess that's hoping for too much, huh?"

Cid placed his hand over Rygdea's, which had been fondly stroking Fang's hair. He looked like he was thinking the same thing.

* * *

"Any more questions?" the history teacher said to her freshman students as she gestured at the wide screen monitor that nearly stretched across the entire wall, and upon receiving none, the woman nodded. "All right. I'll be calling out names in pairs along with a topic. We have ten minutes left in class. I suggest you use that time to talk to your partner. This project is due in two weeks. I won't accept any excuses."

The room was abuzz with murmurs as the teacher read out names from a list. Serah, sitting by the window, was one of the few students who had remained quiet. The students around her, however, eventually pulled her into a friendly conversation, which she indulged, though not enough that she was too distracted to not hear her name being called.

"Farron and Villiers," the teacher declared. "War of Transgression."

"Aww, man, I wanted that one," the boy beside Serah groaned.

"You lucked out on your partner, Serah," the girl behind her said. "Maqui's really smart."

"And really cute," the girl in front of her added. "I'm glad he isn't sick anymore."

"Didn't he miss school for a week?" the first girl asked.

"He did. I hope it wasn't anything serious."

"Not this again," the boy griped, interrupting the two girls. "He's right there. Whatever it was, it obviously didn't kill him, so what does it matter? Ugh, people just look for any excuse to talk about the Villiers."

"I agree," the girl in front of Serah said, nodding sagely, though it seemed like she didn't listen to the latter part of the boy's rant. "Anyway, where was I? He's cute, isn't he?" she crooned, promptly going back to swooning. "Even cuter with those goggles. They look so good on him, I don't care if he never puts them on."

"Does he ever put them on?" the other girl wondered.

"Like I said, I don't ca- oh, he's coming over!"

"Lemme guess, he's going to ask for my seat," the boy grumbled. "I'm gonna save us both the trouble and get outta here," he said, then he stood up and headed to an empty seat, sneering at Maqui when they nearly bumped into each other.

As Maqui approached, Serah turned to him and made a great and winning effort to smile. She was apprehensive, uncertain of what to say or how to act around a boy who literally ran away from her a week ago. The friendly expression on his face was a welcomed, encouraging sight, and it was even more encouraging that he was the one who spoke first.

"Hi," he said with a genuine smile. "Serah, right? I'm Maqui. My sister Lebreau told me you and your siblings have been to NORA a few times with Vanille and Fang."

"That reminds me," one girl quipped. "Serah, what's Vanille's number?"

"Are you close to Fang, too?" the other girl shyly asked.

Before Serah could give either of them answers, the teacher called out the name of the girl sitting in front of her. She mimed holding a phone to Serah and winked at Maqui before going off to join her partner, who was ironically the boy from earlier.

"I think I am," Serah jokingly told the other girl, referring to her question. "My sister spends more time with Fang, though."

The girl, who was already blushing, turned a few shades redder.

"Oh. Oh, that's right. You're... Lightning's sister. Same pink hair. Wow, I can't believe a missed that," she babbled, clearly very distracted. "Lightning... spends a lot of time with Fang? Oh, that's... oh."

"They do," Serah said slowly, looking concerned. "Are you okay? You seem a bit... flustered, like you're..." she cut herself off and groaned. "Please tell me you're not thinking of my sister that way. Why do so many people keep doing tha- wait, you're thinking of her... with Fang?"

Fortunately for the girl, her name was called next. She stammered an apology, along with several other things about Fang and Lightning that made little sense, and made a hasty escape by running to her partner across the room, leaving Serah staring and gaping.

"Um, if it means anything," Maqui started, taking the empty seat beside Serah, "I kind of know how you feel. Not a day goes by when people don't have something to say or ask about my siblings."

"I guess I should be grateful there's just my sister," Serah joked, cracking a smile and sharing a laugh with Maqui. "It's just... it's one thing for someone to tell me they're attracted to my sister," she said, feeling more at ease around him, "but I don't need to know that she - or he or anyone - thinks of her... that way. With a friend. Who is also my friend."

"She looked more embarrassed than you did," Maqui remarked, chuckling, "so I think it's safe to say she didn't want you to know, either."

"Yeah," Serah agreed. "I'll talk to her later and tell her it's okay."

Maqui nodded, smiling.

"I'm sure she'll be glad to hear that," he said, and after a pause, where it seemed like he hesitated, he spoke again. "Hey, Serah," he whispered, "I'm really sorry about last week. I didn't mean to run off like that."

Serah, taken by surprised, was a little late to respond.

"It's okay," she eventually answered. "Lebreau told us you were feeling really sick," she said, remembering how, the day after the incident at NORA, they were approached by Lebreau while waiting for their food.

"I was," Maqui admitted, "and I wasn't thinking straight but that's no excuse. I was rude and I'm sorry. I know my sister said I didn't mean it, and Fang and Vanille have been bugging me to apologize to you all week... well," he stopped with a chuckle. "Vanille was bugging me to apologize. Fang sent me one message."

Serah blinked.

"Really?"

Maqui pulled out his phone and showed her the inbox, where she could see multiple messages from Vanille and, indeed, a single one from Fang, which was sent last week, mere minutes after gym class had ended. Maqui opened that particular message.

'Who the hell set your ass on fire?' it read.

"I've only known Fang for a week," Serah said, her amusement evident, "but that really sounds like something she'd say."

Maqui laughed in agreement and pocketed his phone.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is..." he started, regarding her with a sincere expression. "I wanted to apologize to you in person."

"I'm glad you did," Serah chimed, smiling. "People usually run away from my sister, not me. I'm the sweet and friendly one," she joked. "She's the scary, overprotective one who makes boys cry."

"No wonder she and Fang get along so well," Maqui quipped, then he seemed to notice the time on his watch. "Class is almost over," he said, grinning sheepishly. "Looks like I sidetracked us. Hmm... how about we work on it this weekend at my place? Lebreau and Yuj have a lot of books about the war."

Serah's eyes went wide in awe and wonder.

"They do? Do they have any rare and old ones?"

"They have a lot of those," Maqui proudly declared. "And my siblings will be working, so we should have the second floor to ourselves."

"I'll have to ask permission," Serah said, unable to really curb her excitement, "but this is a great idea, Maqui. Are you sure your siblings are going to be okay with it?"

"Positive," Maqui assured her with a smile.

The other students began to rise from their seats, indicating that the ten minutes were up. The history teacher dismissed them with a few helpful hints and a stern reminder of the project's due date. Maqui and Serah exchanged numbers and goodbyes, then headed out to their next classes.

* * *

When second period ended, Lightning was the first one out of the classroom. She was going to have lunch at NORA with Serah, Hope, Fang and Vanille, and she wanted to avoid traffic in the hallways and the parking lot on the way to Fang's car.

She was making excellent time, but as she passed by one of the virtual school bulletins, something caught her eye. Stopping and then returning to the virtual bulletin, she leafed through the various flashing images and picked out an ad from the Cocoon Cultivation Center, an agricultural Cocoon facility based in Pulse. She only managed to read that the center had jobs available for students aged sixteen and above when Fang happened by.

"Light?" the brunette said, coming up behind her and seeing the ad. "3C is hiring? Which branches?"

"Third, fourth and fifth," Lightning answered after a quick scan. "Do you know something about this, Fang?" she asked, turning to the taller teen, who grinned at her.

"I work there, at the fourth branch- 3C-4, they call it. Easier to say."

Lightning raised an eyebrow at the response.

"I thought you and Vanille worked at the chocobo ranch."

"I used to until I got that 3C job," Fang said, stepping closer to the wall to give other students more room to pass. "Vanille works at the ranch when school's out, and I stop by if I can and help her out."

Lightning smirked knowingly.

"She ends up making you do all the work when you're there, you mean."

"Yeah," Fang sighed, shoulders slumped in utter defeat. "I do her job and she gets paid for playing with the chocobos. Baby sisters can be so evil."

Lightning laughed in subtle agreement, knowing she would just as easily allow Serah to repeatedly subject her to the same fate. Then, realizing more and more students were spilling out of the classrooms, she copied the ad to her phone, signalled Fang she was ready to go and lead the way.

"Thinking of taking the job?" Fang asked, falling in step with her.

"Thinking of it, yes," Lightning replied, giving her friend a curious look. "What's it like?"

At that, Fang's face lit up.

"It's like tending to a farm where the plants want to eat you, and so do the chocobos," came the playful response that was followed by a chuckle, which coaxed not one but two pink eyebrows to raise. "Okay, I was kidding about the chocobos," Fang admitted, grinning, "but it's really great there, Light. You should see it yourself."

Lightning smiled, finding Fang's enthusiasm infectious.

"Maybe I should," she chimed, amused by how Fang perked up.

"You could come to work with me this weekend," Fang offered, then gestured at her phone, which she was still holding. "Going to need a permit," the brunette told her. "Should be one in that ad. Getting the job's easy, but getting there is the tricky part. Most folk are still superstitious about it. Think yours will let you go?"

"They will," Lightning stated as she pocketed her phone. "The Center's run by GC, isn't it? You're the daughter of the former and current generals of the Guardian Corps. When I tell them I'll be working with you, they'll have no reason to doubt my safety."

Fang looked amused.

"Using me as leverage?"

"Isn't that what friends are for?" Lightning said, managing to look and sound completely serious.

"You say the nicest things, Light," Fang drawled, playing along.

"And you're such a good friend, Fang," Lightning quipped.

"Yeah, yeah," Fang chuckled, and when Lightning graciously decided to stop with the teasing, they walked in comfortable silence the rest of the way to the parking lot.

* * *

"Claire," Serah said as Fang's car hovered up and out of its parking space and zoomed towards the road. "I'm going to Maqui's this weekend."

Lightning, sitting up front with Fang, looked over her shoulder and then looked at her sister skeptically.

"The boy who was rude to you last week?"

"Did he finally apologize?" Vanille asked, hopeful.

"He better have," Fang muttered.

"Yes," Serah confirmed, fearlessly meeting Lightning's gaze as she proceeded to recount the morning's events. "He apologized to me during history class- in person," she quickly added, stopping both Lightning and Fang from asking about it. "And," she went on, "he and I are partners for a project, so I'm going to his place this weekend."

"Ooh, a project," Vanille chirped. "Hope and I have history later this afternoon. Hope, Hope!" she exclaimed, turning to the suddenly nervous boy who was sitting beside her. "Wouldn't it be great if we get paired up?"

"Y-yeah," Hope stuttered, gazing wearily at Fang. "That would be really great, Vanille."

Lightning narrowed her eyes at Serah.

"Can't you do your project at our house instead?"

"But Claire," Serah protested, "Dajh and the chocobo are going to keep bothering us. And it's really hard to concentrate with Uncle making all that noise in the garage. Besides, Maqui said Lebreau and Yuj have books we can use. Rare books, Claire!"

Lightning scowled.

"So scan the books and make virtual copies. It takes fifteen, thirty seconds per book."

"I know, but-"

"Then bring Maqui to the house. You can ask Sazh not to work on the Vega while he's there. Ask him to keep Dajh and the chocobo busy, in fact. Problem solved."

Serah whined.

"Claire..."

"That won't work," Lightning said, turning her back on her sister, who was now scowling just like her.

"What's the project about, anyway?" Hope asked, not at all bothered by the spat between the sisters.

"It's about the War of Transgression," Serah said, sending one last dirty look to the back of Lightning's head.

"The war?" Fang asked, glancing briefly at Serah before turning her eyes back to the road. "You're in Ms. Lawson's class, right?" When she got several versions of yes from all three freshmen sitting in the back, she snorted. "Careful with that one," the teen warned the younger ones. "She doesn't like it if you say bad things about Cocoon."

"Oh, yeah," Vanille droned. "I forgot she was the one who did that."

"Did what, exactly?" Lightning asked, looking at Fang curiously.

Fang sneered, though she kept her eyes on the road.

"Was in Ms. Lawson's class when I was a freshman. One lesson, she talked about the war. Then she asked, 'Any more questions?' I had questions. Lots of them. Turns out, they weren't questions becoming of a Cocoon citizen, she said. The only answer I got was, 'Tell your fathers I wish to speak with them as soon as possible and please report to the school counselor.'"

"That's a bit extreme," Serah murmured.

"Fang has..." Vanille trailed off, "very strong opinions on Pulse."

"It doesn't make sense, Van," Fang snarled, green eyes alight with the same anger Lightning had seen a week ago. "I'm supposed to be proud that, five hundred years ago, the Cocoon army killed every 'barbarian' man, woman and child they found down there? None of the fighting even made it to Cocoon. That means these people were no match for the army or they were just trying to defend themselves. I can't be proud of that."

"That's not right," Hope argued, failing to notice Vanille frantically motioning at him to stop. "They tried to attack Cocoon but they couldn't get through the army, not with PSICOM at the front line."

Fang scoffed.

"If they were too weak, then why kill them all? What the hell was Cocoon afraid of? Why is it still afraid? These days, people still don't want to go down there. Why? The barbarians are all dead."

"I..." Hope faltered, but soon regained his composure, "Pulse is dangerous. That's why it was just a hundred years ago when we built our first base there. When I was a kid, my dad always told me-"

"Pulse is Hell," Fang mockingly supplied, stating the famous adage. "Makes you wonder how a bunch of weak barbarians were able to live there."

Hope's brows furrowed.

"I never thought of it that way," he mumbled.

Vanille made a disapproving sound.

"Fang," she admonished, "don't take that tone. Hope didn't deserve that. Say you're sorry."

Fang barely bit back a growl.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Fang," Vanille warned.

Fang twitched, then stiffly turned to Hope, who shrank back even more.

"Sorry, Hope," she said, and though her voice was strained, she sounded more sincere.

Vanille nodded.

"That's better, but you really need to work on that."

"It's... okay, Fang," came Hope's awkward and belated reply.

Fang, her eyes back on the road once more, grumbled something only Lightning heard, which made the blonde's lips quirk. Lightning didn't know whether to smile or to smirk, because while she sympathized with Fang, having been in similar circumstances with Serah, she couldn't help but be amused at how Fang sulked about it.

"Our parents never said those things to us," Serah said softly, referring to what Hope had said about his father.

"Our dads didn't, either," Vanille added.

Lightning, noticing how uncomfortable Hope was becoming, spoke up.

"Did your dads meet with Ms. Lawson, Fang?" she asked.

Fang, still sulking, had no trouble sneering.

"Yeah, they did," the brunette answered. "I had to sit there and listen to her tell my dads they weren't raising me right and how it makes GC look bad because there was no way a PSICOM officer's kid would ever 'spout such nonsense'."

"Wow," Serah murmured in disbelief. "What did your dads say?"

"I don't know," Fang said. "They asked me to leave the room, and when they came out, they told me I didn't have to see the counselor anymore. After that, Ms. Lawson just ignored me for the rest of the year. She didn't fail me, so I didn't care."

"I'm surprised she didn't lose her job," Lightning remarked. "Your dads' doing, I'm sure."

"That's so weird," Hope mumbled, looking very troubled. "Everyone else I knew... their parents told them the same thing about Pulse. I thought it was like that for everyone."

"Our dad was in GC, too," Serah told him. "Maybe that has something to do with it."

Vanille groaned.

"Okay, that's it," the redhead snapped. "The next person who says something depressing is going to buy me four pints of ice cream!"

The peace and quiet didn't even last four seconds.

"Van, you're getting fat."

"Fang's buying me ice cream, yay!"

* * *

"I still can't believe you caught that," a very thrilled and animated Fang told Lightning as they exited the locker room. "When I threw the ball, I knew it was too strong," the brunette went on, referring to a play during the veloball scrimmage held to close out gym class with. "Didn't think anyone would get to it. Didn't think anyone would try. Hell, Light, weren't you right beside me?"

"I wasn't," Lightning said, regarding her enthusiastic friend with amusement. "Not after you dove into that small mob and wrestled with five other people for the ball. How's your head?" she asked, remembering how Fang took a hit to the skull during the scuffle.

"It's fine," Fang chuckled, bringing her hand to her head to soothingly rub what was likely a tender spot. "It didn't hurt as much as it looked."

Lightning smirked a little at the nonchalant response.

"Do you hit your head often in games?" she gently teased.

Fang, she learned last week, was in the veloball team, and, according to Vanille and a shelf of trophies, was arguably the best player on the team. Though playing alongside Fang for half an hour wasn't enough to back up Vanille's claim, Lightning knew better than to the doubt the word of a proud sister, especially one who also happened to be a cheerleader.

"Just four times this season," was the cheerful answer to her question, and Lightning simply couldn't tell if it was true or not. "Coach yells at me for it, says I'm too reckless, says the only reason she hasn't gotten fired over it is because I have such a hard head," Fang rambled on, but before Lightning could get a word in, the energetic jock jumped back to their previous conversation. "So, Light, you didn't start running until I threw the ball?"

Lightning huffed.

"Of course," she said, finding the question silly since she would have had no reason to run otherwise.

"Wow," Fang breathed. "I didn't know anyone could move that fast."

Lightning looked at Fang then, saw the crooked grin and the admiring gaze directed at her, and unlike most of the compliments and flattery she received, the innocence and honesty in this one made her smile.

"Serah was quick, too," Fang added, making Lightning smile even more. "She was only in for a couple of plays, but, wow, she was quick."

"She is," Lightning said, and she was proud to say it. "She's faster than I am."

Fang's eyes went wide in wonder.

"She is?"

Then, as if on cue, Serah came running up to them with a nervous-looking Maqui in tow. Both of the freshmen, Lightning noticed, were still wearing their gym uniforms, which confirmed that her sister had yet to shower and had likely done nothing but chat with the boy since class ended. Socializing tended to make Serah forego otherwise habitual activity, personal hygiene, in this case.

"Hi, Claire. Hi, Fang," the younger Farron greeted, tugging the boy forward by the hand. "Claire, this is Maqui. Maqui, this is my sister. Call her Lightning."

"Ah," Maqui awkwardly started. "Hi, Lightning."

Lightning crossed her arms over her chest, barely acknowledging Maqui and instead looking at Serah with a deadpan expression.

"I know who he is, Serah," she said.

"Yes, but you haven't met," Serah quipped.

"We just did," Lightning quipped back.

Serah rolled her eyes.

"Very funny, Claire- Fang!" she suddenly squeaked. "What are you doing? Let him go!"

Fang, who had apparently manhandled Maqui into a headlock while the Farron sisters were talking, blinked at Serah.

"I was asking him if he really did apologize to you," was the simple answer.

"It's okay," Maqui wheezed, reassuring Serah with a smile and a wave of the hand. "My brothers do this kind of thing all the time. I'm used to it," he added, then he turned to his captor. "I really did apologize to her, Fang."

"Then do it again," Fang ordered, though the playful grin on her face didn't exactly make her look imposing. "So Light will believe it, yeah?"

"Fang," Lightning sighed, shaking her head at her friend and trying to hide a smile from her sister. "If you make him do that, then I'll have to be nice to him."

"Oh, do it, Maqui!" Serah practically squealed.

Fang then promptly released Maqui, who flailed and nearly bumped into Lightning as he tried to regain his balance.

"Um, uh," Maqui stammered, hastily backing up to put a respectful distance between them. He glanced at Fang, then at Serah, then back at Lightning and, in a surprisingly sincere voice, said, "I'm sorry I was rude to Serah last week."

"I told you so, Claire," Serah gloated.

Lightning ignored her sister and simply gave Maqui an approving nod.

"Let it be the last time," she told him, the warning in her words very clear.

Maqui beamed, seeming to realize that it was the closest he'd get to a friendly introduction.

"It will be," he eagerly promised.

Lightning nodded again.

"Good."

Serah was just about to continue gloating when they all heard a shout of, "Hey, Farron! Both of you!"

All four teens turned to the direction of the voice and saw the gym teacher hurriedly making his way over to them. While Serah and Maqui politely greeted him, Lightning expressed her greeting in a question.

"Is something wrong, Mr. Taylor?" she asked.

He chuckled and shook his head.

"Nah, nothing like that, and if I got here in time, you're going to be calling me Coach Taylor from now on," he said, glancing at Fang before turning back to the sisters. "Watched you two out there during the scrimmage. You're quick, both of you. Real quick. Were either of you in your old school's track team?"

Serah briefly exchanged a look with Lightning and then shook her head.

"No," Lightning answered for them both. "Neither of us."

"Really?" Mr. Taylor blurted, gawking a bit. "Man. Wow. I honestly can't believe that. Well, their loss, my gain- wait, has Raines here asked you to join the veloball team?" he asked, eyeing Lightning in particular.

Lightning looked at Fang, giving her friend an inquisitive look.

"I was going to," Fang freely admitted. "Coach Hale would let her try out."

"I'm not really much for contact sports," Lightning murmured apologetically.

"Oh..." Fang mumbled, putting considerable effort into not looking so dejected but failing miserably at it.

"It was fun playing with you, though," Lightning added, being completely sincere about it.

Fang blinked, then started to grin like a fool.

"Yeah?"

Lightning smiled a little.

"Yeah."

Mr. Taylor cleared his throat.

"Well," he said returning his attention to both sisters. "I'm the coach of the track team, and if either of you girls are interested, try outs are in a few minutes. Personally, it'd be just a formality for you two. You'd make the team, no problem, both of you." When the Farrons still didn't seem sold on the idea, he said, "Couldn't hurt to give it a shot, right?"

"You seem very... determined to get us to try out, Mr. Taylor," Serah remarked.

Mr. Taylor laughed.

"That's because I know talent when I see it," he declared. "And I would never forgive myself if I let you walk out of here and right into Hale's team. Last time I let my guard down, Hale snagged Raines from me, right under my nose," he griped, jerking a thumb at Fang's direction. "Well," he sighed, turning to leave. "I've said my piece. It's all up to your girls." As he walked away, he could be heard grumbling, "First my girlfriend, then my star player. Not letting that damn woman take one more thing from me."

When Mr. Taylor was out of earshot, Lightning, Serah and Maqui all looked at Fang, who shrugged helplessly.

"I like veloball better, okay?" the exasperated jock said, making Serah and Maqui laugh while Lightning was clearly amused.

"What do you want to do, Serah?" Lightning asked a moment later, though she was actually asking, 'What do you want me to do?'

"You know I don't really like sports, Claire," Serah murmured, giving her a sad but brave smile. "You should try out, though. I know you want to, and I want you to." Before Lightning could protest, her sister then said, "Come on, Claire, do it for me? You can't say no to that."

Lightning huffed.

"And there's the yes I've been waiting for," Serah cooed.

Fang stared at Serah in horror.

"Bloody hell, you're evil, too," came the terrified mutter that only Lightning heard.

Linking arms with Lightning, Serah began to lead the way out of the gym. Fang and Maqui lagged behind them, Maqui chuckling at the look on Fang's face. On the way there, they ran into Vanille and Hope.

"Hey, guys- ooh, hi, Maqui! Anyway, guess what," the excited redhead said. "Hope and I are partners for that history project! And-and! We're also doing the war. Wow, huh? What were the odds of that?"

"Wow," Serah echoed, then suddenly smiled like she had an idea. "That's great, Vanille. Maybe we can do our projects together?"

"We should!" Vanille squealed.

"We should," Serah agreed, laughing. "Let's talk about it later, though," she then said, prompting the group to start moving again. "Claire's going to try out for the track team."

"Ooh," Vanille droned, completely absorbed by the news that she didn't seem to notice or care that Fang tugged her away from Hope. "We'll cheer for you, Lightning!" she happily told the elder Farron. "You know, Fang knows some of the cheer squad's moves. I'll make her do them!"

"What?" Fang sputtered. "Like hell I will!"

* * *

That evening, during dinner at the Estheim-Katzroy household, Serah had good news to share with the rest of the family.

"Claire made the track team!" the younger Farron happily announced.

"Yay!" Dajh squealed, then suddenly went quiet, seemingly in deep thought.

Overjoyed, Sazh seemed to have forgotten his mouth was full and attempted to speak, which resulted in a few garbled words and him immediately clamping a hand over his mouth afterwards. Using his other hand, he gave Lightning a thumbs up and grabbed the glass of water in front of him. Nora, assured that her husband wasn't choking, looked at Lightning with a smile.

"That's wonderful, Lightning," Nora said, ever careful with expressing motherly affection, something Lightning was grateful for.

"Thank you," the teenager murmured, pleased with herself that the response didn't come off cold.

"Just wonderful?" Sazh, finally able to speak and no less enthusiastic, jokingly teased his wife. "It's fantastic is what it is! It's great!" he cheered, then he looked at Lightning and smiled like Nora had. "I'm glad you decided to give it a go this year, Soldier Girl."

"Me, too," Serah chimed, and since she happened to be sitting next to Lightning, she wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulders and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Lightning tried to scowl, but it just ended up looking like a weird, strained smile.

"All right, you can stop making fun of me now," she half-heartedly grumbled, gently pushing away an already giggling Serah.

The rest of the family laughed along, all except Dajh, who was finally done thinking.

"What's track?" the boy asked. "Is it a sport?"

"Yeah, Dajh, it is," Hope said.

Dajh turned his wide curious eyes from Sazh and Nora to Hope.

"What kinda sport is it, Hope?" he asked further. "Is it like veloball? I like veloball!"

Hope chuckled.

"No, it's not. It's like racing."

Dajh's eyes went wide again, but this time in realization.

"Light's fast! She's good at racing!" he exclaimed, then looked across the table to beam at Lightning. "You're gonna win lots of races, Light!"

Lightning, out of habit, began to reach out to pat Dajh's head, but suddenly stopped. She glanced at Serah, and Serah, with just a look, assured her that the boy's head had been chocobo-free since his bath earlier. Convinced, she went ahead and ruffled Dajh's hair.

"Thanks, Dajh," she told the boy, making him giggled in delight.

Halfway through dinner, Serah's phone rang.

"Oh, it's Vanille," she said, turning to Sazh and Nora. "She's calling about a project. I'll only take a few minutes."

Getting a nod from both adults, Serah smiled gratefully and eagerly answered the call. Lightning, who had stopped eating when the phone rang, eyed Serah suspiciously. It didn't get by her that her sister intentionally left out that not only were she and Vanille not partners for this project, they weren't even in the same history class.

"- really?" Serah murmured, sounding giddy as she continued to speak with Vanille over the phone. "Wow, they did? I thought they'd insist we go there instead. Yes, I will right now. I'll call you after dinner." She then ended the call and, not waiting to be prompted, asked Sazh and Nora, "Can Hope and I go to Maqui's place this weekend?"

"Whoa, there," Sazh chuckled, holding his hands up. "Who's Maqui?"

"Her partner for the project," Lightning answered before Serah could.

Nora looked at Serah, confused.

"I thought you had this project with Vanille."

"Vanille is Hope's partner," Lightning helpfully pointed out, earning a glare from her sister, which she returned in kind, along with a sneer.

Hope wisely chose to keep putting food in his mouth so he didn't have to speak.

"Wait, wait," Sazh said, holding a hand up a little higher. "Why is Vanille calling Serah if Hope is her partner? Did something happen to your phone, Hope?"

Hope, seeing that Lightning was looking his way, shook his head and reached for a drink.

"What subject is this for?" Nora asked.

"History," Serah hastily answered, not allowing Lightning to cut her off again. "Our topic is the War of Transgression. Same with Hope and Vanille, too. Maqui says his older siblings have a lot of books about the war."

"Which you could copy and bring back to our house," Lightning stated, repeating what she had said to her sister at lunch.

"But now there's four of us," Serah argued. "And Maqui said he would really prefer that we go to his place. Besides, Vanille's dads are okay with it!"

"What about Maqui's parents?" Nora asked. "How do they feel about this?"

Serah hesitated, and though Lightning took the chance to speak again, her tone wasn't as biting.

"Maqui is under the care of his older siblings," she said. "His family owns and runs NORA."

"That cafe by the beach?" Sazh asked. "How old is the eldest of the bunch?"

"Claire says one of them looks twenty-eight," Serah chimed, giving Lightning a very smug grin.

"I said he only looks like he's twenty-eight," Lightning snapped.

"Mmm-hmm," Serah hummed mockingly.

Lightning rolled her eyes at her sister and turned her attention to the sensible adults instead.

"Maqui's siblings will be too busy to supervise," she told Sazh and Nora.

"We'll be cooped up in the second floor, reading books and watching documentaries," Serah pointed out. "And if you're really worried about supervision, Maqui said Yuj and Lebreau will check on us from time to time."

"Oh, hmm," Sazh droned as he rubbed his chin. "Well, if the Raineses are okay with it..." he trailed off, glancing at his wife.

Nora seemed uneasy, but when she was met with Serah's pleading gaze, she relented and said, "All right, but I'd like to speak with the Raineses."

Serah nodded happily. Soon, she was preening, thoroughly enjoying her victory. Lightning, feeling cheated, poked her sister's side until that smug look completely went away.

"So, that NORA place..." Sazh said, "is it true they serve free meals to any Noras who come in?" he asked, furthering the conversation while getting a laugh from the rest of the family, even Nora.

* * *

Later, when dinner was over and Serah had run off to call Vanille, Lightning pulled Hope aside.

"I had nothing to do with it," Hope blurted out, the first words he had said since his wise decision to clam up.

"Hope," Lightning said, ignoring his frightful outburst. "You care about Serah, don't you?" she asked, companionably putting an arm over his shoulders.

"Yeah," Hope responded with confidence and sincerity. "She's my best friend, and she's family now. You both are, Light."

Lightning nodded, looking pleased.

"And you'll look after her this weekend, won't you?"

"I will!"

"And if a man who likely is twice her age attempts to start a conversation with her..."

Slowly, Hope started to grin, as he finally understood what she wanted to hear from him.

"I'll make sure they're never alone."

Lightning nodded again, smiling now.

"Right," she praised Hope, giving him a pat on the back, then she went to look for Sazh and Nora, intending to talk them about the job at the Center.

**.**

**Note:**

The sport veloball mentioned in this story should not be confused with (remove spaces and parentheses): encyclopedia2 . thefreedictionary .com(/)Veloball


	4. Chapter 04: Bad Omens, Part II

**Apply Standard Disclaimers Here**

**.**

**The Twilight Zone  
****Chapter 04: Bad Omens, Part II  
****By: E.G. Szyslak** [04/19/12-05/05/12]

**.**

The rest of the week seemed to breeze by, and when the weekend came around, Lightning found herself sitting on the living couch, on the phone with Fang.

"_5:30? AM?"_ Fang asked, sounding incredulous. _"You sure about that, Light?"_

"5:30 AM, yes," Lightning evenly responded, raising an eyebrow even though Fang wasn't actually there to see it.

"_I thought you didn't like getting up early."_

"I don't," Lightning said, sighing.

On the other line, Fang chuckled.

"_How about an evening run, then?"_ came the gentle tease, but the offer behind it was sincere.

"It's all right, Fang," Lightning insisted. "I'm awake by 5. Exercise makes waking up early less frustrating."

"_You're up that early?"_ Fang asked after a brief pause, which, Lightning guessed, was spent blinking in confusion. _"Even on weekends?"_

"Even on weekends," Lightning said, thinking about her most recent dream and the headache that followed.

"_You wake up on your own?"_ Fang mumbled, still confused. _"No alarm? No baby sister jumping on your bed, screaming in your ear?"_

Lightning let out a little laugh.

"Speaking from experience?" she teased, easily imagining a squealing Vanille startling awake a poor, unsuspecting Fang.

"_Yeah, used to happen a lot,"_ Fang said, laughing along. _"Seemed like something our sisters might have in common."_

Lightning smiled.

"Serah hates mornings more than I do," she divulged, suddenly feeling grateful for it.

"_Huh. Wouldn't have guessed."_

"You don't seem like a morning person yourself, Fang," Lightning remarked, staring at the blank TV screen she never got around to switching on, then she settled back on the couch, quickly getting comfortable.

"_Me? I love my sunshine,"_ Fang drawled, snickering.

"Tch," Lightning huffed. "I'd like the sun better if it was setting."

"_Yeah?"_ came the playful quip, _"Didn't think you were such a romantic, Light."_

"You're right, Fang," Lightning coolly said. "You weren't thinking."

Fang laughed.

"_You sounded just like Coach Hale, Light. Minus the shouting."_

"I'll take that as a compliment," Lightning happily informed her friend.

"_It is,"_ Fang confirmed through a clumsy, exaggerated purr, prompting a laugh from them both. They trailed off into a comfortable silence, and a moment later, Fang asked, _"You sure you don't want to go for that evening run instead? Wouldn't hurt to sleep in tomorrow."_

"It wouldn't," Lightning agreed, sighing as she thought of the times she had tried and failed to go back to sleep after those vivid dreams. "We'll see, Fang. Maybe this job will tire me out enough and let me sleep past dawn."

"_Trouble sleeping, Light?"_

"In a manner of speaking," Lightning murmured, idly rubbing at her temples, where there was a ghostly sensation of the brief headache she had this morning. "I sleep fine and I get my rest, but once I'm awake, I'm awake."

"_And you're up by 5?"_

Lightning sighed.

"If I'm lucky."

"_Sounds like Lady Luck isn't on your side,"_ Fang noted, earnest and sympathetic, not mocking or teasing.

"Not unless you think waking up at 4 is lucky," Lightning grumbled, then made a face when she realized something. "You probably do, don't you?" she groaned, like it was such a bizarre thing and she simply couldn't understand it.

Fang chuckled, which alone was telling.

"_Has it always been like that for you, waking up so early?"_

"No, it used to take a lot of effort and a loud alarm for me to get out of bed," Lightning replied with a slight laugh.

"_What changed?"_

Lightning hesitated a little before answering.

"We moved here," she said, and as soon as she did, she corrected herself. "We moved back here," she whispered, surprised at the attachment she felt to Bodhum, the place that was new and strange to her just two weeks ago. "I think I just need time to get used to it," she added, "time to adjust."

On Fang's end, there wasn't even a pause.

"_Next time you're up and you feel like talking, give me a call, yeah?"_

Lightning blinked, finding the bold yet sincere offer completely unexpected, then slowly started to smile.

"I might do that."

"_Looking forward to it,"_ Fang said, and Lightning could tell it was with a grin. _"So, what do you usually do to pass the time?"_

"Homework, reading. I still have to catch up in some classes."

"_Catch up? But you said you already- oh. Advanced classes?"_

"Yes."

Fang snorted.

"_And you think I'm crazy?"_

"I go out for a jog when the time is appropriate," Lightning reminded her scoffing friend, half-heartedly defending herself, "and it's not always about school. I'm still reading up for the Center job."

"_You're still at it?"_ Fang mumbled in disbelief. _"Didn't you start doing that four days ago?"_

Lightning glanced at the end table to her right, where there rested a datalog containing a personal compilation of information on farming, the Cocoon Cultivation Center and Pulse flora and fauna. On top of it was a copy of a junior employee manual she had gotten from Fang.

"There's a lot to read," she mumbled back to Fang. "I'd like to have some idea of what I'll be doing."

"_Don't worry about it so much, Light. Like I said, it's just like working in a farm."_

Lightning's lips quirked upward in amusement.

"That would be very reassuring, Fang, except I've never worked in a farm. There are none of those in Palumpolum. I worked in retail and restaurants. I walked dogs. I babysat."

This time, there was an extremely long pause before Fang spoke.

"_You babysat?"_

"Wouldn't have guessed?" Lightning teased, smirking.

"_Hell, no,"_ Fang blurted out, the blunt answer making Lightning laugh. _"Sorry. I mean, you don't seem like a kid person. Or a dog person, even."_

"I don't seem like a dog person?" Lightning asked, raising an eyebrow again.

"_Yeah. You seem like you'd like cats more. They're clean, quiet. And they can take care of themselves, mostly. Huh. They're like you."_

Lightning raised her other eyebrow.

"Are you trying to say something, Fang?"

"_That you're like a cat,"_ came the simple answer. _"I like cats, too. Used to beg my dads for a cat or a dog, but they always said no. Even Vanille couldn't get them to change their minds."_

"My parents weren't in favor of pets, either," Lightning said. "It was one of the reasons I worked in a pet salon for a while."

"_Sounds like you've had a lot of jobs, Light."_

"I suppose," Lightning whispered, her expression turning grim. "With my dad gone and my mom getting sicker by the year, I wanted to help out. When Sazh and Nora took us in, they only allowed me to keep one job, and that was because I was being stubborn about it. They wouldn't have let me take the Center job if your dads didn't vouch for it."

"_You're not thinking of getting another job, are you?"_ Fang asked, and Lightning was grateful her friend understood that she didn't want to dwell on her parents.

"I think Sazh and Nora's one job rule is still in effect," she quipped, her mood considerably lifted.

"It is and you know it, Claire," chimed Serah, who walked into the living room and took a seat next to her now gaping sister. "And don't try to be sneaky about it this time. Don't think I didn't know that one job you kept last year was pretty much two jobs rolled into one. Uncle let you get away with it because he didn't want to keep pushing you, but I won't have a problem doing that this time."

Lightning gave Fang a hasty apology and muted the phone.

"Serah," she snarled at her sister, "how long have you been there?"

"Long enough," Serah sang, complete with a knowing smirk. "I wasn't even trying to sneak up on you, Claire."

Lightning sneered, then her eyes narrowed when she noticed Serah's clothes.

"Why are you already dressed? You don't leave until lunch."

Serah stared at her like she was the one wearing a skirt too short and a tight blouse showing off too much skin.

"Claire, it's 11," the younger Farron said, pausing to check the time. "11:11, to be exact. Vanille and her dads are picking us up in less than half an hour. How long have you been on the phone?"

Lightning thought about it. She remembered coming home from her run, taking a shower and then having breakfast with Nora, who had been the only other person in the house awake at seven in the morning. Shortly after, Nora had to leave for work, and Lightning had been talking to Fang since.

"An hour," she lied, and it would have convinced most people.

"Uh-huh," Serah said, because Serah wasn't most people.

"Where's Hope?" Lightning asked, deflecting.

Serah was still smirking, but seemed to have decided to indulge her.

"He's still getting ready," Serah chirped, looking amused. "He wants to look nice for Vanille. I tried to help him, but he said having his sister dress him is only a little worse than having his mother dress him."

Lightning scoffed half-heartedly.

"Considering what you're wearing, I can't say I blame him."

Serah rolled her eyes.

"You talk as if I'd put him in a skirt."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Lightning teased, grinning. "You used to put all your dolls in dresses, even the male ones. Especially the male ones."

Serah scowled with all the indignity of a miffed little sister.

"Oh, shut up and talk to Fang," the younger Farron grumbled, switching on the forgotten TV.

Lightning, not deterred by the sour reception, said, "Hope's going to wear the clothes Nora picked out for him, isn't he?"

Serah finally stopped fighting the urge to smile.

"He so is."

Laughing at her sister's response, Lightning disabled the mute on the phone and went back to talking to Fang.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, a car pulled up in front of the house. The backseat window slid down and out popped Vanille's red head.

"It's Vanille," Hope, who had looked out a window, announced.

"Bye, Claire," Serah said, giving Lightning a hug and getting up from the couch. "Be careful at work. Call or message me when you can."

Lightning, no longer on the phone with Fang, returned the hug and stood up to see them out.

"I will, Serah," she told her sister, then glanced at Hope, exchanging a knowing look with him. "Good luck with your project. See you both tonight."

"You, too, Claire."

"Bye, Light, and thanks!"

Their goodbyes said, Serah and Hope exited the house and made their way to the car.

"Hey, guys!" Vanille exclaimed, popping back inside the car and opening the door.

"Hi, Vanille," Serah greeted, peeking into the car and giving a friendly smile to Cid and Rygdea, who were sitting up front, both looking like they were dressed for work. "Good morning, Mr. and Mr. Raines. It's nice to finally meet you both."

"Aww," Rygdea, at the passenger's seat, droned at Serah. "I was hoping you'd remember us, Serah. Come on, your sister used to call me Unca Ry-Ry. Familiar? No?"

Serah looked at Rygdea, frowning.

"That... does seem a little familiar, but I'm not sure, Mr. Raines. I'm sorry."

"Don't mind him, Serah," Cid told the now flustered Farron, giving her a warm, reassuring smile. "And Hope, isn't it? Nora's boy?" he asked, looking past Serah to Hope, still with the same kind expression.

"Uh, yes, sir," the boy stuttered, well aware that Rygdea was giving him a scrutinizing look.

"Daddy..." Vanille warned, sending a glare Rygdea's way.

"What?" Rygdea asked innocently. "I was just... studying his posture. You're slouching, boy. Straighten up!" he snapped at Hope, using what Vanille called his GC general voice.

Hope squeaked and went rigid, his back ramrod straight.

"Ignore him, Hope," Vanille advised, scooting to the other end of the backseat to give Serah and Hope room to sit.

"Yes," Cid agreed, pinning Rygdea down with a look.

"Yeah, ignore me," Rygdea practically yipped, flashing Hope a friendly grin. "I was just kidding, Hope. No hard feelings, right? Right!" he exclaimed at the slightest hint of a nod from Hope, then turned to Cid. "See, the boy has a sense of humor. And a nice shirt. That's a really nice shirt you got there, Hope."

"Ah, thank you," Hope mumbled, blushing, and Serah looked like she suspected why.

"Come on, guys, get in," Vanille said, patting the spot next to her, which Hope longingly gazed at but made no move to claim.

Serah entered the car first, sitting next to Vanille. Hope followed suit and the door closed. As the car zoomed along the road, Cid spoke up conversationally.

"Vanille tells us your project's about the war..."

* * *

NORA was packed and busy when they arrived. Cid and Rygdea exited the car and escorted the three teens to the cafe, where Lebreau and Maqui were waiting for them outside. Lebreau, exuding a warm, inviting aura like always, smiled charmingly at them.

"General Raines, Dr. Raines," Lebreau smoothly intoned.

"Ms. Villiers," Cid responded with a nod, while Rygdea just nodded.

"Hello, Mr. and Mr. Raines," Maqui politely greeted the men.

"We've saved a table for the three of you," Lebreau informed the teens in the group, gesturing to an empty table for four.

"The three of us?" Vanille echoed, looking at Maqui, who was wearing a waiter's uniform. "You're not going to eat with us, Maqui?"

"Oh, no, I already ate," the blond boy explained, giving Vanille a sheepish and apologetic look. "Besides, it gets really busy here on weekends, so I want to help out as much as I can before we go up."

"I see how it is," Rygdea said with a chuckle, drawing attention to himself. "Coming here at lunch to get a free meal? You kids are clever."

Lebreau turned to Rygdea and laughed along.

"It was my idea, General Raines," she responded with a confident, winsome grin.  
"It's not every day my brother has friends over, and in a more conventional setting, I'd still be giving these kids free food, anyway."

"Daddy, you should stay and have lunch with us," Vanille urged, tugging at Rygdea's hand.

Rygdea's gaze briefly switched to Lebreau and Maqui before he faced Vanille with an apologetic smile.

"We'd love to, pumpkin," he murmured fondly, "but we need to go."

"Yes," Cid affirmed, also looking Lebreau and Maqui's way before turning to Vanille. "I have to be at the hospital and your father is needed at the station. Maybe next time, darling."

"Aww, okay. Next time!" Vanille chirped, going over to hug Cid and Rygdea. "Promise!"

"Promise," Rygdea laughed, lifting Vanille off the ground when they hugged. "You kids be good," he said, discreetly aiming a glare at Hope.

Hope gulped and straightened his back again. Cid and Rygdea were tall men, standing well over six feet, and though they weren't built like Snow or Gadot, they still cut imposing figures, especially to a boy who was infatuated with their darling daughter.

"Serah, Hope," Cid said, smiling at the two teens. "It was nice meeting you. We hope to see you both again."

"Yeah," Rygdea agreed. "Stop by our place after school or something. Kids still do that, right? Doesn't matter. You kids should come over, anyway."

"Uh, thank you, sir," Hope stuttered, anxious around Rygdea despite the friendly statement.

"We'd love to, Mr. Raines," Serah said, having no trouble smiling.

When the Raineses left and drove off, Lebreau lead Serah, Vanille and Hope to the empty table and motioned at Maqui.

"He'll be your waiter today," she chimed, then excused herself to attend to the other customers.

Maqui laughed and, when Serah, Vanille and Hope looked at him, he asked, "What will you guys be having?"

* * *

At the Estheim-Katzroy household, Lightning was almost done getting ready for work. She was already dressed - casual, comfortable clothes and a good pair of work boots, she was advised upon applying for the job - she already had lunch and had taken a quick shower, and now all she had to do was finish combing her hair.

Setting the brush aside, Lightning pulled the long, wavy part of her hair over her left shoulder and checked her reflection. With some minor adjustments, she was done and walking down the hallway. She stopped by the room Hope and Dajh shared, checking if Dajh had woken up from his nap. Seeing the boy still snoozing away, Lightning made her way downstairs and found Sazh eating his lunch in the living room.

"Hey, Soldier Girl," Sazh cheerfully said, lowering the volume of the TV and turning to her with a smile when he noticed her walking up to the couch to join him.

"Sir," she replied simply as she sat next to him. "Dajh is still asleep," she informed him, then raised an eyebrow when she saw the chocobo chick perched on his head. "I was wondering where you were," she said to the bird.

"Kweh!" the chocobo chirped happily.

Sazh laughed.

"She somehow found her way to the garage. Must have gotten lonely with Dajh napping."

"Must have," Lightning agreed, though her eyebrow was still raised. "Why is she on your head, though, sir?"

"Oh," Sazh said, as if just realizing it himself. "She got spooked by all the noise I was making and ran for cover in my hair. Couldn't bring myself to shoo her away. Besides, she was good company, told me if I was reaching for the wrong thing or if I was about to dip my hand in the paint."

"Kweh, kweh!" the chocobo tweeted proudly.

Lightning stared at the preening bird, then at her sheepishly grinning adoptive father.

"Has Dajh named her yet?" she asked after a moment.

"Nope," Sazh replied with a chuckle, "but I'm sure he'll come up with a name soon." He took a bite of food, chewed thoughtfully, then remarked, "Speaking of soon, you look all ready. I'm guessing Fang is coming by to pick you up."

"She is, sir," Lightning said, watching as Sazh checked the time. "I wanted to come in early."

"You did?" Sazh asked, appearing sheepish that he hadn't known. "Aww, you could have told me, Soldier Girl. I would have been happy to take you there myself. You are going to the same place I teach at, you know," he added, referring to the Guardian Corps base in Bodhum that also housed transgates and transpads to Pulse.

Lightning couldn't quite hide the surprise she felt from hearing the offer.

"Thank you, sir," she managed, though very awkwardly, "but it isn't a problem for Fang. She usually goes to work early."

"Oh... all right," Sazh mumbled, his expression very much like a sulking father who had lost out to his daughter's friend, but he didn't dwell on it for long. "Well," he immediately went on, not even giving a chance for her discomfort to sink in, "if you ever need something, remember that you can ask me, too, okay?"

Lightning was quiet for a moment, then she looked at Sazh.

"I'll remember..." she murmured, trailing off, unsure how to address her adoptive father at the moment.

Sazh smiled warmly and squeezed her shoulder. Lightning closed her eyes. If Sazh had let his hand linger a little longer, if he had put his arm around her, she thought, it would have been something her father would have done.

"Are you sure about this job, Soldier Girl?" Sazh asked gently, and Lightning wondered how obvious it had been that she was thinking about her father.

She nodded.

"I am, sir," she said, and she did so with confidence and resolve.

"Okay," Sazh whispered, the smile on his face telling her that he understood. "There's no shame if you change your mind. There's a lot of other jobs out there. That NORA place might be hiring."

"I don't think they need another waitress," Lightning absently muttered, her brows furrowed as she recalled the times she had been to the cafe.

She always found it strange that she had never seen any other employee at NORA. When she had brought it up at their table one lunch, Vanille revealed that Fang once asked Lebreau on the matter, but the woman just winked and said something about trade secrets before walking away.

"And I'm no cook," she added, as she had figured that any help NORA hired was based in the kitchen, so the Villiers would be free to reel in customers with their looks and charms.

Looks and charms that were effective, with very few exceptions. Lightning had noted. She happened to be one of the very few exceptions.

She noticed Sazh was chuckling, no doubt remembering the kitchen disasters she had in their Palumpolum apartment.

"If those are your options, then this Pulse job is a safer way to go, Soldier Girl," Sazh playfully teased, and Lightning had to laugh in agreement.

Shortly after, the doorbell rang.

"That's probably Fang," Sazh said, setting his lunch aside and standing up. "I'll see you out. About time I woke Dajh, anyway. He's napped long enough, I think."

Lightning nodded and headed for the door, Sazh not far behind her. She opened the door and standing there was Fang, dressed in the usual simple tank top and jeans.

"Hey, Light. Ready to go?" Fang greeted with a grin, then blinked when Sazh came into view. "Oh. Hey, Mr. Katzroy."

The chocobo chick popped its head out of Sazh's hair and squawked indignantly.

"Kweh, kweh, kweh!"

Fang looked at the noisy bird and laughed.

"Nice to see you, too" she said to the chocobo, not at all disturbed that the small bird was hiding in a grown man's hair. "You still mad at me for putting you in that bird bath?"

"Kweh!"

"I think she's holding a grudge," Sazh remarked, reaching over his head to give the chocobo a pat.

"I think it was the strawberry-scented shampoo," Lightning quipped, smirking at the angry little bird.

"But Serah picked that out," Fang said, the smug grin still there.

"Okay, you two have had your fun," Sazh cut in, though it was evident on his face that he was just as amused. "She might burst if you make her any angrier."

Fang, still grinning, nodded and asked, "Does she have a name yet, Mr. Katzroy?"

"Nah, not yet," Sazh replied with a helpless shrug. "Dajh is taking his time."

Fang perked up.

"Yeah? If he wants any help with that, tell him I've got a few ideas."

Sazh chuckled, much to the chocobo's chagrin.

"I'll pass it along," he said, and then he patted Lightning on the shoulder. "It's about time I head up. I was just here to see Soldier Girl out. You two be safe down there."

"Yes, sir!" Fang barked with the enthusiasm of a proud soldier and did a perfect salute.

Sazh, being the ex-GC pilot that he was, was visibly impressed.

"You're a soldier's kid, all right," he remarked, laughing.

"Two soldiers, Mr. Katzroy. Two GC soldiers," Fang jokingly corrected him, but she was clearly proud of her fathers.

Sazh's face lit up.

"Yeah, no doubt," he happily conceded. "No doubt. Once a soldier, always a soldier, and GC boasted the best kind, if I do say so myself. PSICOM's got nothing on our best."

Amused, Lightning shook her head and began to push Fang out the door.

"We should go, Fang," Lightning said, recalling how Sazh and her father never seemed to run out of military things to talk about - as was the case when Cid and Rygdea visited the day after they moved in - and she and Fang simply didn't have the time for it.

"Okay, okay," Sazh chuckled, turning for the stairs. "I can take a hint. Be safe."

"I will, sir," Lightning assured him, then gave Fang one last push and closed the door behind them. "'Yes, sir'?" she asked, repeating what her friend had said to her adoptive father, and she would have mimed the salute if she didn't feel very silly about it.

"Didn't want him having second thoughts about letting you go," Fang said, grinning proudly. "Figured that would help."

"You planned it?" Lightning murmured, not quite able to hide her surprise, since Fang never seemed like the scheming sort.

"Plan?" Fang echoed, head tilting slightly. "No. I had a thought and went with it."

Lightning smiled. Now that, she thought, sounded more like Fang.

"Come on, Light," Fang said, sprinting ahead. "I'll get your helmet."

"My hel-" Lightning started to say, but cut herself off when she finally noticed that Fang's car was nowhere to be seen.

Instead, there was a velocycle, and Fang had run up to it and came back holding two helmets.

"Did something happen to your car?" Lightning asked as she took the helmet Fang was handing to her.

"I take my velo to work, less hassle with the transgates," Fang said, putting on her own helmet and gesturing at Lightning to do the same. "That's not a problem, is it?"

Lightning glanced over her shoulder, wondering if there was a chance Sazh would look out the window.

"Only because Sazh didn't walk me past the front door," she told Fang as she wore the helmet she was given. "He and Nora don't approve of teenagers in velocycles."

"Guess I got lucky," Fang remarked, chuckling and getting inside the vehicle.

"I guess so," Lightning agreed, sitting behind Fang and wrapping her arms around Fang's waist.

* * *

When Fang drove the velocycle right into a transgate, Lightning had some idea of what she was going to see on the other side. She had seen pictures and videos of Pulse, from books to documentaries to the video logs her father used to send when he was away.

Stepping out of the velocycle, it felt as if she was still in Cocoon. The Center base understandably looked similar to the GC base in Cocoon. But when she heard a distant roar from above and looked up just in time to see a large, winged beast fly by - when past it, she saw Cocoon hanging in the sky - there was no denying where she was.

She took off her helmet and saw another of the winged beasts.

"A wyvern," she murmured to herself, but she knew Fang, who was standing beside her, had been close enough to hear it.

"Sure is," Fang said, removing her own helmet and gazing up at the wyvern. "Hard to believe Pulsians used to ride those things. Always wondered how they grounded them."

"By luring them down with bait and then restraining them," Lightning stated, as it was the most obvious, logical method.

Fang snorted.

"That's no fun, Light. Use your imagination."

"Do you have a better idea, Fang?" Lightning challenged lightly.

"Yeah!" came the confident response, along with a matching grin. "Jump up really high and hop on its back."

Lightning stared at Fang for a moment before speaking.

"That's some imagination, Fang."

"Thanks," Fang drawled, playing along. "Here, let me take that," the taller teen offered, taking the helmet out of Lightning's hands and placing it inside the velocycle along with hers. "Need to stop by the office before you-"

"Raines!" a deep voice boomed. "Hah, knew that was you!"

Lightning saw a man in a Guardian Corps uniform approaching them. He was about Sazh's height, Lightning noted, but had a heavier, stockier build. He also had a mustache, but the next thing Lightning noticed was the animal following him. Seeing the black and white fur, she easily identified it as a megistotherian puppy.

"Hey, boss," Fang flippantly greeted the soldier, brushing right past him and picking up the puppy.

"Damn it, Raines," the man groused, "can't you at least pretend to respect me in front of the new recruit?" Sighing, he looked at Lightning, smiled and said, "Farron, right? Lieutenant Amodar," he introduced himself. "I knew your father. He was a good man."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Lightning responded almost automatically as she stared at the man and attempted to link his face to memory, but she didn't recognize him. "You knew my father?"

Amodar seemed to consider his words.

"I did, but it's probably more accurate to say I knew of him. A man like your father, it was impossible to be in GC and not know his name," he explained, then cocked his head at Fang, "same with Raines' fathers. Your father could have been high up there with them if he wanted, Farron. You should be proud."

Fighting a flinch and biting her tongue, Lightning just nodded.

"I am, sir," she stated, and if Fang had noticed her voice was strained, it didn't show.

Instead, Fang walked up to her, still holding the megistotherian puppy.

"Light," Fang called, drawing her attention to the puppy, which, she was surprised to learn, was purring like a cat. "This is Stupid."

Lightning blinked.

"Did you just insult the megistotherian for no reason, Fang? And why is it roaming freely? I thought every breed of gorgonopsid was too feral and dangerous to domesticate, especially megistotherians."

Amodar let out a hearty guffaw.

"Right you are, Farron," the soldier merrily praised her, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Nice to see someone come here knowing a thing or two about Pulse. Most of the recruits I get, they gawk and squeal like kids in a pet shop. Oh, and," he said as let his hand fall to his side, "Raines didn't insult the mutt. It's his name."

Lightning found herself staring at Amodar again, but this time it was to see if he was joking.

"Stupid," she repeated, and to her surprised, the puppy perked up and turned its big, yellow eyes at her. "You named the megistotherian puppy Stupid," she muttered in disbelief.

"Raines named him," Amodar said with a snort, clearly amused. "We found him in the chocobo stables about three months ago. He made a run for it and we had to chase him all over the base. Raines was the one who caught him. It turned out he's really friendly, didn't even hurt a single chocobo. He would have died if we tossed him back to the Steppe, so we decided to keep him around. He keeps people company and keeps the sheep and the chocobos in line. That makes him fine by me."

Lightning turned her questioning gaze to Fang.

"You named him Stupid?"

The puppy looked at her and responded to his name with a happy bark.

"Not exactly," Fang chuckled, patting Stupid on the head before putting him down. "He did a lot of stupid things." The puppy barked again, and she added, "like biting an oretoise egg - that's how he lost all his baby teeth - taking a piss on a swarm of triffids, thinking they were a patch of flowers... still does them, actually, and I'd call him stupid for every one," she paused, as she was once again interrupted by an enthusiastic bark. "After two weeks of that, he thought it was his name."

"You didn't try to call him something else?" Lightning asked, watching as Stupid chased his tail and ran in circles.

"Why?" Fang said, just as Stupid tripped and stumbled, and then started chasing his tail again. "Stupid suits him just fine, don't you think?"

Lightning shook her head, trying to hide her amusement.

"I think you shouldn't name your future children," she quipped, "if you decide to have any, that is."

"Hah!" Amodar boomed, and Fang scowled at him.

"It's all right, Fang," Lightning almost cooed, "I'll help."

Fang's eyes went comically wide, and just as Lightning was wondering if she had said something wrong, Fang violently shook her head and sheepishly mumbled, "Oh, with the names."

"Yes..." Lightning said slowly.

She couldn't tell, but she could have sworn Fang was blushing.

"Didn't think anyone could get that kind of reaction out of you, Raines," Amodar remarked, shaking his head and turning to Lightning. "Come on, Farron. Let's go to my office so you can get started."

* * *

At NORA, Serah, Maqui, Vanille and Hope were a few hours into researching for their project. Serah and Maqui were occupying a couch by the bookshelves, surrounded by books and digital copies. Vanille and Hope had commandeered the TV, watching a documentary series about the War of Transgression recorded from the history channel.

Serah, her nose in a book, blindly reached for the glass of juice on the table in front her, a little startled when the glass was lighter than she was expecting. Reluctantly tearing her eyes away from the book, she saw that the glass was empty. On the table were three other glasses, all of which were also empty.

"Oh," Maqui said as he looked up from his own book. "I'll get us more juice."

"I can get it, if you don't mind," Serah told him, already standing up. "I need to go to the restroom, anyway. It's weird, though. It feels like I drank two glasses worth of juice."

"I know what you mean," Maqui chimed, smiling. "There should be a pitcher of juice in the fridge, but you really don't have to, Serah. I can get it while you go to the restroom."

"It's okay, Maqui. It's just juice," Serah said as she reverently placed the book on the neat pile beside her. "You just keep reading. I'll be back before you know it."

"Okay," Maqui conceded, then turned to Vanille and Hope. "Do you guys want anything?" he asked, looking like he was ready to stand up if they did.

"Hmm, no, not right now," Vanille chirped.

"I'm fine, too," Hope added. "I'd really like some juice, though."

"I'll hurry back," Serah laughingly told Hope and headed out of the room, gently closing the door behind her.

She leisurely made her way down the hall, admiring the expensive furniture and extravagant paintings and decorations on the walls. The walk was silent, the soundproofing swallowing whatever noise that was coming from downstairs. If this had been the first place in NORA she had stepped into, she never would have guessed there was a cafe just a floor below.

At the back of her mind, Serah couldn't shake off an unsettling feeling. There was a sense of coldness in the entire second floor, like she was in a museum instead of someone's home.

Shaking her head and berating herself, Serah reached the end of the hall and walked into the kitchen. She was surprised to see that not only was someone there, but that someone turned out to be Snow who, upon seeing her, flashed her the brightest, cutest smile she had ever seen.

"Hi, Serah," he droned in that deep voice of his she had only heard a scant number of times, none of which were directed at her. "What brings you here?" he asked, then he suddenly frowned, as if realizing he had made a mistake. "Sorry, uh, that didn't come on too strong, did it?" he blurted, wincing at his own words. "I mean, uh, we haven't really met. I know you know my brother, and you've talked to my other brother and my sister. And I know you eat lunch here with Vanille and Fang, and I've always meant to come over and say hi but it was always so busy, so... hi."

Serah couldn't help but smile. She found his unprovoked flailing endearing. Usually, her sister had to be present for a guy to stutter and squirm like that.

"Hi, Snow," she said, deciding to spare him the humiliation by pretending she only heard the last word he said. "I'm glad we're finally talking," she added, blushing slightly.

With that, Snow's easy grin was back in place.

"Me, too," he told her, sounding earnest. "Heard you guys were doing a project. How's it going?"

"It's going great," Serah replied, grateful for the subject change. "We still have a lot of reading to do, a lot of notes to take. It's a lot of fun," she murmured, her eyes sparkling as she spoke. "Lebreau and Yuj have an amazing collection of books about the war. I've always loved history, but I don't even know half of the titles in those shelves."

Snow chuckled, evidently charmed.

"Yeah, a lotta books in there, all right. They told you you could make copies, right?"

Serah nodded.

"They did," she said, smiling. "I have a few going right now. I should check back soon to see if they're finished. We ran out of drinks, so I came here to get the juice in the fridge."

Snow's gave her a strange look.

"That doesn't sound like something a guest should be doing," he mumbled, his brows furrowing. "Did my brother put you up to this?"

Serah suddenly had a mental image of Snow manhandling Maqui like Fang had did earlier that week. She shook her head, both to get rid of the image and to answer Snow's question.

"It's okay, Snow. I insisted," she explained. "I had to go to the restroom, anyway."

"Hmm," Snow droned, rubbing his chin, then he grinned at her. "Well, if my brother's not gonna be a gentleman about this, it's up to me," he declared, marching up to the fridge and easily taking one of the full pitchers of juice.

Serah giggled very girlishly, which spurred Snow on.

"Snacks! Gonna need snacks!" he exclaimed, placing a tray on the counter and putting the pitcher on it. "This looks good," he said, tossing several bags of chips on the tray. "Ooh, and these," he cooed as he grabbed a large jar of peanuts, and he continued to rummage until there was a considerable pile of snack foods around the pitcher.

"I don't think we're going to finish that before dinner," Serah playfully remarked.

Snow snorted half-heartedly.

"This? Nah, it's not much," he said as he caught a couple of chip bags that rolled down the pile.

"Maybe not for a guy your size," Serah countered, then immediately turned red and hoped he didn't notice she had been staring at his flexing arms.

Snow, to his credit, didn't make a lewd comment or attempt to make her more flustered.

"Yeah, maybe," he agreed, smiling at her. "So," he began as he slowly tidied up the snack pile on the tray, "how are you liking Bodhum? You and your family just moved in, right?"

Serah seemed taken aback by the question at first, but she eventually nodded.

"We did. My sister and I, though, we used to live here before, a long time ago. With our parents," she murmured, smiling sadly. "I was very young when we moved to Palumpolum, so I don't really remember Bodhum, but I'm loving it here. I love the town, the beach..."

"It's a great place," Snow agreed. "It's only been a few months for me, too, but I'm happy to be here."

"Me, too," Serah murmured, her smile becoming brighter.

As Snow was about to speak again, Hope came marching into the kitchen.

"Serah, how long does it take to go and get ju- oh," the blond boy trailed off into a mumble when he spotted Snow and Serah with nothing but a counter and a tray of snack foods between them.

"Hope," Serah murmured in surprise. "I'm sorry. I lost track of time."

"It's okay," Hope said evenly, moving up to stand beside Serah and narrow his eyes at Snow. "I'm Hope," he boldly introduced himself to the taller, bigger man, "Serah's brother."

Snow, unperturbed, beamed at the boy.

"Great to meet you, Hope! I'm Snow, Maqui's brother," he joked, earning a little laugh from Serah.

Hope didn't look amused in the least.

"I know," he muttered darkly, and Serah stared at him like he had either lost lost his mind or was employing his best Lighting impression. "Hey, Serah?" he called, the tone of his voice instantly becoming pleasant and warm. "It looks like you got the juice. We should go back to the study. Maqui and Vanille are wondering where you are."

As Hope reached for the tray, Snow held up a hand to stop him.

"No worries, buddy," he said, still beaming. "I've got this."

"Aren't you supposed to be working, Snow?" Hope bluntly asked, making Serah gawk.

"Nah," Snow chuckled. "I'm on a break. Gadot's covering for me."

"And Hope," Serah added, "I still have to go to the restroom. You can go ahead and-"

She was interrupted when Gadot seemed to come out of nowhere and barreled right into Snow, who remarkably took the hit and stayed on his feet.

"Dude, I've been lookin' all over for you!" Gadot bellowed as he grabbed Snow in a headlock and flashed a grin at Serah and Hope. "Yo. Name's Gadot, you know that already. You're Serah. You're Hope. Wish we had time to chitchat but Snow and I gotta go. C'mon, Bro, break's over!"

Before Serah or Snow or Hope could get one word in, Gadot handily dragged Snow away.

* * *

Lightning, sitting at a table in the Center's mess hall, was waiting for Fang to return from the food stalls. There were two plates of food on the table with her, one in front of her and the other across, where Fang would sit. She and Fang had already been in line, but Fang had to go back to get food for Stupid.

Sending a response to Serah's latest text message, Lightning looked up from her phone and easily found the peculiar pair. Stupid was following Fang, staring hungrily at the dog bowl the brunette was holding. The bowl, Lightning noticed, was already half-full, and Fang had just asked for a large cut of meat, much to Stupid's delight.

Fang made one more stop and then headed back to their table, Stupid happily trotting after the brunette.

"You didn't have to wait for me, Light," Fang said, putting the dog bowl on the floor and sitting down.

Stupid scrambled over to the bowl and began to devour the meat that had been on top.

"It's all right, Fang," Lightning assured her friend. "You didn't take long." She noticed Fang placed a small object on the table, and when she saw that it was a salt shaker, she motioned at Fang's plate and asked, "Isn't that already salty?"

"Hardly," Fang grunted, then proceeded to unload just about all the salt in the shaker on her food.

Lightning's eyes went a little wide.

"Fang, you should stop."

Fang did just that and sampled the meat, eyes lighting up.

"Perfect! Thanks, Light."

"You're... welcome," Lightning said, unsure of how to respond. "Have you always had a concerning affinity to salt or do the cooks here season the food differently?" she asked as Fang began to eat. "I don't remember you having problems with the food at NORA."

Fang finished chewing her current bite, swallowed it, then answered, "Lebreau already knows how I like my salt. She's got a really good memory. I never had to make a grab for the shaker since my first stop at NORA."

Lightning stared at Fang's plate.

"That much salt can't be good for you."

"My dad's a doctor and he says it's okay," Fang said, taking another bite.

Lightning switched her stare from the food to Fang.

"He does?"

Fang nodded and waited to finish chewing before answering.

"Yeah. Says it's okay for me," the brunette paused to take a drink, then added, "whatever that means. I get my salt, I'm happy."

Lightning wanted to keep asking questions but she decided against it, understanding that Fang hadn't cared enough to find the answers she would have been looking for. Instead, she turned her attention back to Fang's plate.

"Can you even taste the food with all that salt?" she asked, brows furrowed.

"Hell, yeah," Fang boasted, spearing a slice of meat with her fork and holding it up to Lightning's mouth. "Here, try it."

"I'll... take your word for it, Fang," Lightning said, grasping Fang's wrist and aiming the fork away from her face.

Fang gave a little shrug and happily took the bite herself. Lightning let out a small laugh and turned her attention to her own plate. They talked as they ate, mostly about work, with Fang more than happy to answer even the most specific questions Lightning had about the animals and the farm equipment. It was only when Stupid interrupted with a loud hiccup did the conversation change.

Fang sighed, giving Stupid an exasperated look.

"That's what you get for eating too fast."

Stupid snorted and continued to gobble up his food.

"Maybe you should give him some water, Fang," Lightning said when Stupid hiccuped again.

"Yeah, when he's done," Fang muttered, nudging Stupid with her foot, which did nothing to stop him in his quest to reach the bottom of the bowl.

"I'm still surprised by how tame he is," Lightning remarked, watching in amusement as Fang lightly bumped Stupid in the rump with the toe of her boot.

"He's dumber than he looks," Fang drawled, and despite the scathing words, there was an undeniable fondness in her voice. "Know how I caught him? I was having a snack at the stable and he came right out of hiding to beg for a piece. Didn't even know he was there. Didn't even know there was a megis pup on the loose. Stupid thing."

Lightning smirked.

"From what I can tell, you love that stupid thing."

"Maybe," Fang grudgingly admitted, scowling at Stupid. "Amodar better still want him around when he's as big as a behemoth king." At the mention of the Guardian Corps lieutenant, Fang's expression changed and, after a pause, she said, "Hey, about Amodar... if I knew he'd go on like that about your dad, I would have asked my dads to tell him to shut up about it."

Lightning was surprised, not in the suddenness of the statement but the nature of it.

"You didn't know?" she asked when she found her voice.

Fang shook her head.

"Light, when your family left Bodhum, my dads barely said anything about you or your family." Fang let out a shaky breath, ran her fingers through her hair and muttered, "Hell, the times they did say something, it was... when your dad passed. Then your mom, four years later."

Lightning simply nodded, knowing that Fang had more to say.

"Both times, I wanted to go to Palumpolum to see you," Fang said, then sighed. "But my dads said it wouldn't be right because our families hadn't spoken in years and we should respect that you wanted to have private funerals. I think my parents and your parents had a falling out before your family left for Palumpolum."

"That makes sense," Lightning murmured. "Neither of my parents said anything about your family." Realizing that dwelling on it for now was pointless, she asked, "You really didn't know about my father?"

Fang looked at her and smiled uneasily.

"Light, when I knew your dad, I didn't care about his military record or that soldiers like Amodar fawned over him. I just cared that he let me eat chips before dinner when he was cooking."

Lightning frowned.

"When he was cooking? What do you mean, Fang?"

"Shit," Fang hissed, looking like she just realized she made a big mistake. "Sorry, Light, I know you didn't want to talk about anything that happened the first time you were here. Just forget I said that, okay?"

"No," Lightning snapped, making Fang flinch. "Tell me."

Fang rubbed the back of her neck, muttering another string of curses.

"Fang," Lightning said, speaking softly this time.

Fang looked at her, seemed to make one last attempt at resisting - or hoped that she would magically remember without being told - then gave in with a sigh.

"Your family, Light, you used to live with us, in our house."

Lightning didn't completely understand why, but hearing that immediately made her think of the dreams she had, those that came before the one about her mother and the beach. All those dreams involved the same house, from returning to the hospital after Serah was born, to running around the large garden with her father, to her family having dinner or having fun in the pool in the backyard. When she woke up after those dreams, she recalled finding it strange that Cid and Rygdea were a constant presence in the house.

She wondered why, given what Fang had just said, did it suddenly make sense.

Lightning rubbed her temples, feeling the same ghostly sensation of a splitting headache that wasn't really there.

"Light?"

Fang's voice sounded far away, but it was enough to anchor her. Lightning looked up, seeing those worried green eyes before anything else, and she shook her head, hoping to shake with it the strange thoughts and questions she didn't dare voice.

"I'm sorry, Light," Fang said, and this time, Lightning could hear her friend's voice clearly. "I shouldn't have said anything. It was stupid of me to-"

It was either the best or the worst timing in the world that Stupid had finished off his bowl and decided to bark at the sound of his name.

"It's all right, Fang," Lightning assured her friend, and when that didn't seem to work, she did something that oddly felt natural.

Her hand sought out Fang's, which, she was surprised to learn, was resting on her other hand.

"It surprised me more than I thought," she admitted, "but when I sort it out, when it sinks in, I'd like to talk about this."

Slowly, Fang began to smile.

"Yeah. Whenever you want, Light. Just say-"

Stupid interrupted again, this time with a loud hiccup.

"I hate you," Fang growled.

Stupid wagged his tail and rolled on his back, displaying his white belly.

"You should give him some water," Lightning said, laughing a little.

"Yeah," Fang sighed, reluctantly pulling her hand away and standing up.

As Fang left, Stupid stayed on his back and wiggled his paws at Lightning, who didn't even last a minute before she fell victim to his puppy-eyed look and gave him a belly rub.

* * *

"Good read?"

Serah didn't really register the question and the adeed weight on the couch that indicated someone just sat beside her. Hearing a chuckle, she looked up and found Yuj next to her, looking very amused.

"Oh, Yuj," she murmured in surprise as she put down the book she had been reading. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you."

"It's all right, Serah," Yuj said with a smile. "Maqui's the same way when he gets his hands on some kind of machine and he's tinkering away at it."

Serah looked around the study for Maqui and found him chatting excitedly with Hope. Vanille was at the couch in front of the TV, watching a show with Lebreau.

After dinner, NORA closed for the day. Lebreau and Yuj joined them in the study and even helped with their research until, a couple of hours later, the four teens decided they were done for the night. They had all since gone about doing their own things as they waited for Lightning and Fang. Serah, knowing exactly what she wanted to do to pass the time, had curled up on the coziest couch and grabbed the book that was first on her to-read list.

"What do you have there?" Yuj asked, drawing her attention.

She placed a marker between the pages and closed the book, showing him the cover.

"One of the untitled compilations," she said.

"Ah," Yuj droned, apparently recognizing the book with just one glance. "The journal entries of a nameless PSICOM soldier, yes?"

Serah nodded.

"Lebreau told me it's dismissed as fiction, that the primarch during the war banned it from publication and had all existing copies confiscated and destroyed."

"Rumor says, of it and some of the other books we have," Yuj murmured. "It isn't the first thing the Sanctum government wanted to erase, nor will it be the last. Its authenticity is impossible to prove. You seem to believe it, though," he noted, giving her a curious look.

"I'm not sure," Serah said, turning the book and opening the back cover. "The primarch's seal looks real, but I probably wouldn't be able to tell if it was a forged. I was thinking about including this in our project, but considering what Fang has said about Ms. Lawson..." she trailed off. "Maybe it's better to avoid causing trouble. Plus," she added, smiling a little, "if the story behind this book and others like it is true, then it'd be illegal to have them. I don't want to get you guys arrested."

Yuj laughed.

"Well, we appreciate the consideration, Serah."

"It's the least I could after you set me loose in your library," Serah said, laughing along. "Whatever I read and learn from this book, I think I'll just keep it to myself."

"You're always welcome here, Serah," Yuj told her, then motioned at the book on her lap. "How far have you read?"

Serah found the marker and opened the book.

"I'm at the entry where the soldier got separated from his unit and found a Pulse village a week later." She went quiet for a moment as she read the next entry, then her eyes went wide and she whispered, "He... found another PSICOM unit there. They killed everyone in the village."

"I remember that," Yuj said, sounding like he wish he didn't.

Serah was about to say something when her phone sounded off, indicating a new message. She read it then called out to Hope and Vanille.

"They'll be here in a few minutes."

* * *

Lightning handed her helmet to Fang and looked at the sky, wondering if Fang still experienced the surreal feeling that came with jumping worlds within seconds. It was strange that she was now standing on Cocoon when moments ago, she was staring up at it.

She looked around the empty parking lot, but eventually, her gaze was drawn to the beach and to the shore, which was about a hundred yards from where they stood.

"Thinking of going for a swim, Light?" Fang asked, coming up behind her. "No sun. Perfect for you, yeah?"

Lightning glanced over her shoulder, smirking at Fang.

"A teenage girl swimming at the beach at night. That's not exactly the best of ideas, Fang."

Fang scoffed.

"I'll go with you."

Lightning scoffed back.

"Two teenage girls swimming at the beach at night doesn't sound much better, Fang."

"Yeah, yeah," Fang said, waving it off. "Wouldn't be so bad with more people. It'd keep most trouble away, but you'd still have to watch out for drunk idiots driving their cars and their velos on the water. Only time they have a chance of getting away with a stunt like that is at night. Even then, they usually get caught. Doesn't stop them from trying, though."

Lightning snorted.

"Of course not."

Fang lead to the way to NORA's front doors, which were closed but not locked. They had barely set foot on the inside of the cafe when Snow and Gadot came barrelling towards the doors. Lightning was able to move aside, but Fang, whose attention had been on her, was leveled.

"Oh, man," Gadot gasped, sprinting back and helping Fang up before Lightning could. "Didn't see you there, Fang. Sorry 'bout that!"

"Didn't see me?" Fang sputtered as she was easily pulled to her feet. "The hell were you looking at, then!" she snapped, managing to look menacing despite being dazed and confused.

Snow walked up to them, looking sheepish.

"Sorry, Fang. We're gonna hit the beach," he said, gesturing at his and Gadot's swimwear. "Got a little too excited to get there, I guess."

"You guess," Fang spat, not at all amused.

"Aww, c'mon, don't be like that," Gadot cooed, then yanked her to his bare chest and lifted her off the ground. "Give us a hug! And I ain't lettin' go until you forgive us!"

"Ugh, you're freezing," Fang griped, wincing. "What, did you jump in the water already?"

Gadot laughed and, unfortunately for Fang, hugged her tighter.

"Nah, babe, you're just that hot!" he said, which made Fang groan in exasperation. "C'mon, say it. Say you forgive us! You know you wanna!"

"Okay, okay!" Fang barked when all the shoving and thrashing proved futile. "I forgive you," the brunette muttered. "Now let me go, damn it!"

"See? Wasn't so hard, was it?" Gadot boasted as he freed Fang, who gave him a good, hard shove that had him backing up and cackling loudly. "You really gotta lighten u- ooh, hey, who's the babe?" he asked, finally noticing Lightning, or rather, her legs, and his eyes slowly made their way up her body, lingering far too long on her chest.

"Uh, Bro..." Snow stammered nervously, no doubt aware of the stony, frightening expression on Lightning's face and the murderous glare Fang was aiming at Gadot.

"Oh," Gadot said when he saw Lightning's face with his own eyes, but unlike Snow, he giggled - he giggled - the words, "You're Lightning, ain'tcha?" and his own face split into a wide grin.

Lightning crossed her arms over her chest.

"You must be Gadot," she remarked in an icy tone, but the cold reception did nothing to his enthusiasm.

"Yep!" he crowed, throwing an arm over Snow's shoulders and dragging him over. "And this here's my Bro Snow. Dude, look at her!" he exclaimed, as if Lightning wasn't standing right in front of them. "She looks like Serah, except, ya know, more woman than girl. Why don'tcha go for her instead, Bro?"

Lightning sharply turned to Snow, who gulped and looked ready to faint.

"What did you do my sister?" she demanded, barely able to stay calm.

Fang looked confused, then angry, then somewhere in between.

"What the hell is Gadot talking about, Snow?"

"Nothing!" Snow yelled as he shrugged off Gadot's arm, strangely seeming more furious than guilty. "I bumped into her upstairs this afternoon. We talked. We talked," he repeated, looking Lightning in the eye. "That's it. I was just... I was trying to be friendly," he mumbled, looking away, and it seemed like he was ashamed.

Lightning narrowed her eyes, finding it hard to believe him. Fang tilted her head at Snow, as if wondering if his was on right. Gadot was the one who broke the awkward, tense silence.

"Ain't nothing wrong with friendly, Bro," he said, and it seemed like his words were fully directed at Snow.

"Yeah," Snow sighed, shoulders sagging as he turned to Lightning. "Look, we kinda started off all wrong here. My brother made it sound all wrong. Can we try again? Start over?" he asked, actually sounding apologetic and sincere.

Lightning didn't respond immediately and simply stared at him for a long time. Eventually, she nodded at Gadot and spoke.

"Your brother is right. There's nothing wrong with being friendly. Just make sure to keep it that way."

Snow blinked, clearly not expecting her answer, then he smiled and nodded.

"Friendly. Got it. I can do that."

Beaming, Gadot threw his arm back on Snow's shoulders.

"Now that we're all friends again..." he said, waggling his eyebrows at Fang and Lightning, "you ladies want to join us on the beach?"

Lightning raised an eyebrow at the offer, while Fang looked like she was daring him to flirt with them again.

"Ouch," Gadot chuckled, beggining to steer Snow away. "Your loss, girls! If you change your minds, you know where to find us!"

As the two men walked away, Fang muttered, "That was weird."

"Just a little more than usual, but not by much," came an amused remark from someone who wasn't Lightning.

Both Lightning and Fang immediately whipped around to face the newcomer and found themselves looking at a smiling Lebreau.

"Lebreau," Fang muttered sourly, suggesting that it was not the first time the young woman had snuck up on her.

"Don't pout," Lebreau teased, walking up to Fang and giving the teen a friendly hug. Still smiling, she looked at Lightning and pleasantly said, "Hello, Lightning. It's nice to see you."

The blonde teen nodded.

"You, too, Lebreau."

"It's getting late and I'm sure you'd like to go home, but for what it's worth," the beautiful woman said, "if Snow has more than a platonic interest in Serah, my siblings and I aren't for it. We'd prefer if he pursued someone-"

"- his own age?" Lightning cut in bluntly.

Lebreau laughed.

"That's one way to put it."

Fang tilted her head and asked, "He's not really eighteen, then?"

"I didn't say that," was the ambiguous reply, and before either teen could press the issue, Lebreau said, "I'll show you two up," and started walking towards the stairs.

Lightning and Fang looked each other and, seeing that one was just as perplexed as the other, they tried to shrug it off and followed Lebreau up the stairs.

* * *

The moment Lightning set foot on the second floor, her entire body tensed up and she broke into a cold sweat. She looked at Fang, wondering if her friend was having a similar reaction, but Fang was already walking away from her, keeping up with Lebreau.

Lightning shook her head. Her instincts told her to bolt, to lash out. From what, at what, she didn't know. She only knew that she didn't want to be on this floor, that she had to find Serah and get out. She shook her head again, trying to ignore it, trying to fight it.

"Light? You okay?" she heard Fang ask, and when she blinked and tried to focus, she saw that Fang had run back to check on her.

Behind Fang, Lightning could see that Lebreau was looking at her. She remembered talking to Fang about the Villiers, how neither of them believed it was a coincidence that five completely unrelated people had the same eye color. Contacts, they mused then and left it at that. But now, as Lightning stared into a pair of those amber eyes, they looked real to her. Unnatural, she thought, but they looked real.

"I'm all right, Fang. I'm just a little dizzy," she said to her worried friend as she forced herself to look away from Lebreau.

If Lebreau had noticed her staring, it certainly didn't show as the beautiful woman regarded her with such an earnest concern that it made her feel a little guilty for being so suspicious.

"Do you want to sit down for a while, Lightning?" Lebreau asked. "Maybe have a drink?"

"No," Lightning blurted, surprising herself with the urgency in her reply. "No, thank you," she said, much slower, much calmer. "I can rest at home."

Lebreau smiled sweetly.

"Okay. Let's get you to your sister."

The walk to the study wasn't as unpleasant as Lightning had dreaded, and she wondered if Fang staying closer to her had something to do with it. There was still a haunting coldness about this place, made more prominent whenever her eyes darted to the perfect furniture and the perfect decorations surrounding her. It was too clean, too perfect. It looked staged, designed to project the illusion of a well-kept home, when to her it felt like nobody actually lived in it.

"Claire, there you are!"

Lightning only realized they had entered the study when she heard her name called. Serah came up to her and hugged her. She held her sister closely, finally able to let go of the breath she had been holding. At the corner of her eye, she saw Vanille pouncing on Fang, Hope waving to Maqui and heading to them, and lastly, Yuj and Lebreau watching them.

"What took you so long?" Serah asked, pulling away to look at her. "I was getting worried. It's not like you to be so late."

"They had a little run in with Snow and Gadot," Lebreau answered for her, casting Fang a teasing smile.

Yuj chuckled.

"More literal for one than the other, I'm assuming."

"Aww, poor Fang," Vanille cooed, giving Fang a proper hug as opposed to nearly toppling the tall teen over with a pounce.

"No one said it was me!" Fang snapped.

"You just did," Vanille quipped, giggling.

Lightning, noticing how Serah's expression changed when Snow's name was mentioned, was about to speak when Hope approached them.

"Sazh just called," the blond boy informed the sisters. "He said he has to stop by the hospital first to pick up Mom. She was called back this afternoon."

Unintentionally, Lightning's gaze shifted back to the Villiers.

"Let's wait downstairs," she said, turning back to her sister.

"You three go ahead," Lebreau said before Serah could protest. "We'll clean up here and join you when we're done."

"Are you sure?" Serah asked, though she did seem eager to go.

"Don't be silly," Yuj chimed, waving it off. "You're our guests. Now, go on." He looked at Fang and Vanille and added, "That means the both of you, too. Go get your things and head down."

Not arguing, Serah, Vanille and Hope went to get their things.

* * *

For Lightning, they could not have left that room and that floor fast enough, and while she was relieved to be back downstairs, she didn't let go of Serah's hand until they stepped outside the cafe.

"Are you and Fang heading off, Vanille?" Serah asked.

"We'll keep you guys company until you have to go," Vanille said, taking Fang's arm to lead the taller teen. "Let's sit over there!"

"Is that a velocycle?" Hope mumbled in awe, staring at the lone vehicle in the parking lot.

Vanille giggled.

"Yup!" the redhead chirped. "Fang takes it to work instead of her car."

While Hope gaped at the velocycle, Serah gaped at her sister.

"Sazh let you in a velocycle, Claire?"

"He didn't see it," Lightning replied nonchalantly.

"What will you do when he does?" Serah pressed.

"I'm going to make Fang salute," Lightning said, managing to say it with a straight face.

Fang barked out a laugh.

"You're a shrewd one, Light."

"That doesn't make any sense," Serah mumbled.

"I don't get it," Vanille whined.

"Salute?" Hope echoed.

Serah and Vanille pouted at their respective sisters.

"I'll tell you about it later, Serah, when I tell you how work went," Lightning promised.

Vanille gave Fang a look, obviously waiting for the same promise, but when it never came, she smacked her sister on the arm.

"Ow!" Fang yelped in surprise. "The hell, Van?"

Vanille huffed.

"You were supposed to say you were going to tell me later, too!"

Fang blinked.

"I was?"

"You can be such a big dummy, Fang," Vanille grumbled, then gestured at the Farron sisters. "Look at Serah and Lightning. Lightning knew what Serah wanted her say. Why can't we be like that?"

"Maybe because Serah doesn't hit Light," Fang muttered, and was promptly smacked in the arm again. "Ow! See!"

"Because," Vanille sighed, "sometimes it's the only way to get something through your head. You're so stubborn."

As Fang groused about her abusive sister and Lightning, Serah and Hope tried not to smile or laugh about it, the five of them sat at a nearby table. They barely got a new conversation going when Hope's eyes widened and he stood right back up.

"I forgot something upstairs," he announced, heading to the doors.

Serah quickly gave Vanille a look, who nodded and spoke up.

"I'll go with you, Hope," the redhead said, getting to her feet and joining Hope.

"Not alone, you're not," Fang snapped, not far behind.

Hope's expression went from delighted to devastated in an instant. He disappeared into the cafe with Fang and Vanille and, just like that, the Farron sisters were alone at the table.

"I talked to Snow today," Serah said, getting right to the point. "Did you tell Hope to keep an eye on me?"

"What makes you think that?" Lightning asked, calmly meeting her sister's gaze.

"Because he pulled a you on Snow."

Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"A 'me'?"

Serah nodded.

"Yes, he tried to scare off Snow. He glared, he scowled. He made it very clear that he was my brother, then he told Snow to go away. It was cute."

"It was cute," Lightning repeated, eyebrow quirking.

"Mmm-hmm," Serah hummed, smiling sweetly. "Snow thought so, too. Either that, or he didn't even notice Hope was trying to scare him."

Lightning snorted.

"You mean he likes little boys, too?"

"Claire," Serah warned, but then she frowned. "Why are you so against Snow? Do you really think I'm going to throw myself at him when he so much as looks at me? Yes, I wanted to meet him and I wanted to talk him, and, yes, I'm attracted to him, but that doesn't mean I expect to be with him. Is that what you expect of me, Claire?"

"Serah..." Lightning started, mirroring her sister's frown.

"I don't even know him, Claire," Serah whispered, looking hurt. "Do you really think I'm that kind of girl?"

"No, Serah," Lightning said firmly, with conviction. "It's him I don't trust," she admitted, cringing at how lame and typical it was for her to feel that way.

Serah glanced at her, then placed a hand over hers.

"You don't know him, either, Claire," Serah told her, speaking gently. "Maybe you should get to know him before you decide he's a creep. Besides," her sister added, starting to smile, "I don't think he's interested in me. He's eighteen, I'm fourteen. I'm probably just a little girl to him."

Lightning scoffed.

"Maybe that's what he likes about you," she drawled, but she made it clear she was joking, mostly.

Serah sighed.

"I'm starting to understand why Vanille hits Fang."

Lightning looked at Serah and smiled, but it quickly faltered. She was suddenly tempted to tell her sister that the reason she was against Snow was because of a bad feeling she got the moment she saw him, a feeling that was not unlike what she felt when she was upstairs, where Snow lived. Even if she wanted to speak of these things, she felt it wasn't safe to tell Serah. Not here, she thought.

Seeing the troubled look on her face, Serah gave her a reassuring smile and took her hand.

"You know I'm not mad at you, don't you, Claire? And that I won't hit you. There are worse things a sister can do."

Lightning's smile came back.

"I know, Serah."

"Good," Serah said, giving her hand a squeeze and standing up. "Come on. Let's go for a walk."

"In the parking lot?" Lightning asked when she noticed where Serah was looking, but she allowed her sister to pull her to her feet and tug her to the lot.

"It's a nice night," Serah noted, looking up at the sky. "Do you remember when we'd stay in the park with Mom until it was late?"

"Yes," Lightning murmured, also remembering that it was one of the things their mother had to stop doing when she had gotten too sick.

"This night makes me think of all those walks back home," Serah said, smiling wistfully. "Do you think Mom used to do that with us here? It seems familiar, thinking about it."

Lightning squeezed Serah's hand.

"I think so, too."

Serah smiled again, this time brighter, happier. They walked quietly and stopped at middle of the parking lot, where Serah noticed two figures emerge from the water and head the shore. Lightning bit back a curse, not appreciating Snow and Gadot's timely appearance.

"Is that Snow?" Serah wondered out loud. "Oh, it is," she realized, no doubt seeing the bandana and the mohawk on the pair.

Another coincidence happened just then, as Snow and Gadot looked their way.

"Yo, Lightning!" Gadot hollered, bouncing gleefully. "Changed your mind, didn't ya? Your sister can come, too!"

Lightning pinched the bridge of her nose.

"It's not how it sounds, Serah."

Serah laughed.

"I know but it's still funny," the younger Farron teased, then started waving at the two men. "Hi, Gadot! Hi, Snow!"

Snow hesitated, and it seemed like he looked at Lightning before he waved back to Serah, something both Farrons noticed.

"Did you scare him already, Claire?" Serah asked.

"Not as much as I would have liked," Lightning muttered, tugging at Serah's hand and turning around. "We should head back. The others are probably there already."

"Bye, guys!" Serah called out to Gadot and Snow.

"Bye? Whaddaya mean 'bye'!" Gadot screeched. "Aww, man. You sure know how to hurt a guy, Lightning!"

Serah giggled and walked a few steps ahead of Lightning.

"I think Gadot likes you, Claire."

Lightning rolled her eyes.

"He's not my type."

"You don't have a type, Claire," Serah said.

"It might help to remember that the next time you-" Lightning stopped and fell a few steps behind Serah when she heard it, Snow and Gadot shouting at them.

"- ove, girls! Move!"

"Get out of there!"

Lightning looked over her shoulder and flinched, shutting her eyes at the bright lights that were aimed at her. Headlights, she immediately realized. There was a car. There was a car heading right for them.

"Serah!" she yelled, but her sister didn't move, couldn't seem to do anything but stare.

The car was moving too fast. It was too close. She'd be too late.

Lightning ran to Serah, putting herself between the car and her sister. She wrapped her arms around her trembling sister, bracing herself for the inevitable hit.

But the hit that came wasn't the one she expected. She and Serah were suddenly shoved aside, pushed away from the car's path and towards the ground, where they landed awkwardly but safely. The next thing Lightning saw was the car smashing into Snow and sending him tumbling across the lot, his head hitting the ground more than once.

The car swerved wildly before coming to a stop, an obviously drunk young couple stumbling out of it. Five people came rushing out of NORA and split into two groups. Yuj and Maqui went to Snow, while Hope, Fang, Vanille and Lebreau hurried over to them.

"Light! Light!" Hope's frightened, shaky voice barely registered. "Are you okay? Is Serah hurt?"

Lightning held Serah tighter as her sister trembled and whimpered.

"She's fine," she told the group. "She's fine," she repeated, breathing heavily as she tried to stay calm. "Just a little shaken," she whispered, trying to focus on something or someone. She looked up, noticed that Fang was calling for an ambulance, then she looked at Lebreau and asked, "Is Snow all right?"

"He will be," Lebreau said, and there was something about the calm, certain way the woman spoke that Lightning found eerie.

At the corner of her eye, she saw Gadot, still standing by the shore.

**.**

**Note:**

Stupid the megistotherian puppy belongs to **Calore** (u/2493108). He first appeared in Chapter Four, Part Two of **Second Wind** (s/6723420).


	5. Chapter 05: Set in Motion, Part I

**Apply Standard Disclaimers Here**

**.**

**The Twilight Zone  
****Chapter 05: Set in Motion, Part I  
****By: E.G. Szyslak** [05/09/12-05/15/12]

**.**

Lightning and Serah had just been cleared to leave the hospital when Sazh and Nora arrived at the emergency room. The couple briefly spoke with the doctor who had attended to the sisters and, looking visibly relieved, they hurried over to the girls, giving each a hug.

"Oh, thank goodness you girls are all right," Nora murmured, not letting go of Serah just yet. "If I had waited to call your uncle before asking him to come here..." she said, implying that they had likely been halfway to NORA when they received the call and rushed back to the hospital.

"Don't do that to yourself, Nora," Sazh told his wife, reluctantly releasing Lightning to put an arm around Nora. "None of us could have known this would happen. Now, I wish I picked them up first, too," he admitted, looking like it was just now that he was able to breathe easy, but the worry and fear was still evident on his face. "But it won't do any good taking the blame and feeling sorry for ourselves. I'd rather be happy and grateful that you girls aren't hurt."

At that, Serah seemed to remember the reason why she and Lightning came out of the incident with only scrapes and bruises.

"Is Snow okay?" she asked, looking at Nora. "He was here with us a while ago, but they took him somewhere else."

"I was told he hit his head," Nora said, glancing at the doctor they had spoken with earlier. "They're probably taking him in for a CT scan, Serah, and they might have him stay the night, depending on the results. Fang and Vanille's father is handling it. Snow is under great care."

"That's the fella who saved you girls?" Sazh asked, getting a nod from Serah. "He better be okay. He's got good things coming to him. I owe him the biggest thank you of my life, for starters." Suddenly, his expression darkened and he said, "They couldn't tell us what happened to the drunkards behind the wheel. Any news?"

"A Corps cruiser showed up with the ambulance," Lightning replied. "They should be in custody."

"One of them tried to get away," Serah added, surprising Lightning, since she thought her sister had been too shocked to notice. "Fang went after her and caught her before she reached her car."

Lightning remembered that well. Fang had approached the drunk couple after calling the ambulance and the girl, upon seeing Snow lying on the ground, bolted for the car. Fang then immediately chased after the drunk girl and had her subdued within seconds.

Both Sazh and Nora looked stunned. Sazh recovered first, managing a smile and a chuckle.

"Imagine that," he murmured, shaking his head. "Looks like I have someone else to thank. Damn, that girl sure knows how to get on my good side."

"I think that's enough excitement for one day," Nora remarked with a slight smile, finally starting to feel at ease. "Dajh is out there with Hope, Fang and Vanille. I'm sure they're anxious to know you girls are all right."

"You bet they are," Sazh agreed. "Come on, family. Let's go home."

The four of them headed out of the emergency room and found three worried teenagers, a teary toddler and a sleeping chocobo chick waiting for them.

* * *

Lightning knew Serah was upset. She could always tell her when sister was upset with her. It was in how tightly Serah squeezed her hand when they were in the car and how Serah refused to look her in the eye the whole ride back home. Whatever the reason, whatever the problem, no one else was aware of it. Despite their differences, Lightning and Serah were similarly private with their feelings, especially if it was between the two of them.

When Serah finally talked to her, it was when they were about to go to bed.

"What would have happened if Snow hadn't been there, Claire?" Serah asked shakily, glaring at her with watery eyes. "If a gun had been pointed at me, you would have done the same thing. You would have put yourself between me and a bullet. Is it that easy for you to do, Claire?"

"It's pointless to think about, Serah," Lightning told her sister, making an effort to speak gently despite the harsh words.

"Is it?" Serah murmured hollowly. "I could have lost you today, Claire. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"You didn't lose me, Serah," Lightning said, avoiding the question.

"Do you think it won't matter?" Serah snapped, voice breaking as the tears started to fall. "That because Mom and Dad are gone, it won't matter, I won't care? Mom and Dad are gone, Claire," she sobbed, looking angry and hurt. "You're all I have left. You're all I have left! Do you have any idea- any idea at all, how much it will hurt to lose you? I can't- without you- I don't want to, I don't want to-"

Lightning had heard enough. She pulled Serah into her arms and said the only thing that mattered.

"I love you, Serah. I love you."

Serah shook with a pained, strangled whimper. Lightning said nothing else and continued to hold Serah, knowing her sister needed to cry it out.

Later, when the sobs and the tears finally stopped, the sisters lay quietly on a bed. Again, it was Serah who spoke first.

"What was Pulse like?" Serah asked, and Lightning was happy to see that inquisitive, excited spark in her sister's eyes. "Did it look just like it did in Dad's logs?"

Lightning smiled and brushed hair away from her sister's face.

"Pulse is..." she paused, remembering what Fang had said and knowing now why her friend had said it. "It really is something you have to see for yourself, Serah."

"Really?" Serah murmured in awe. "Maybe I can go there sometime."

Lightning nodded, smiling a little more.

"If you really want to."

"Tell me about work," Serah said, hugging a pillow tighter and blinking curiously at her.

They talked until Serah fell asleep beside her. Lightning pulled a blanket over them both and followed suit, thinking that, the last time they had been like this, it was after their mother died.

* * *

Just a few hours later, Lightning woke up early again, having another of those dreams. She sat up to nurse the headache but made no move to leave Serah's side after it had passed. She turned the window, which now had curtains, and for the first time, she didn't feel the need to look out of it and check if there was something outside.

Around fifteen minutes before 5 AM, she called Fang.

"Fang? I think I'm going to try sleeping in. I'd like to go on that evening run, if the offer is still up."

Fang laughed, sounding like she had been awake for some time as well.

"_Hell, yeah,"_ came the enthusiastic response._ "Vanille and I are going to visit Snow this afternoon. You guys want to come? You and I can run after."_

Lightning glanced at Serah before answering, remembering the conversation in the car after her sister received a message from Maqui. They found out that Snow had sustained a concussion and was going to be spending the night at the hospital for further evaluation.

"My family is planning to see him before lunch, when Nora makes her rounds," she told Fang, "but I can definitely make the run later."

"_Sounds great, Light. I'll see you then."_

"You, too, Fang."

"_I'm hungry. I'm going to make myself some breakfast. Good luck sleeping in, Light. After a day like yesterday, you could use the rest."_

Lightning's lips quirked upwards.

"Thanks, Fang. Oh, and, thanks again for chasing down that drunk."

"_Wasn't hard. She was tripping on her own feet," _Fang drawled, then, after they shared a laugh, bid her an earnest good bye._ "Sweet dreams, Light."_

Lightning put her phone away and settled back down next to Serah, who mistook her for a pillow and happily cuddled with her. She didn't manage to fall back asleep, but it was the most peaceful early morning she's had in over two weeks.

* * *

"I have a few patients to see first," Nora told the rest of the Estheim-Katzroy family as they stood outside of the room Snow was confined in. "I'll join you all in an hour," she added, tugging Dajh, whose hand she was holding, over to Sazh.

"We'll be good," Sazh said with a chuckle, sharing a brief kiss with Nora as he took Dajh's hand.

The boy predictably made a face at the couple. He still appeared to be pouting after he was told he couldn't bring the chocobo chick to the hospital. Though he understood that pets were normally not allowed in hospitals, as was the special case last night, he was a child and still sulked about it.

"Bye, Mommy," the boy mumbled sluggishly.

Smiling, Nora bent down to kiss Dajh on the cheek and then bid farewell to Lightning, Serah and Hope. Sazh motioned at the teens to come closer and accessed the keypad on the wall, alerting the people in the room of their presence. Seconds later, the door opened and revealed a pleasantly smiling Yuj.

"Daddy!" Dajh squeaked and pointed at Yuj, eyes as wide as they can go. "That man has blue hair! And he has feathers on his shirt!"

"Now, Dajh," Sazh gently scolded, "don't point. It's rude."

The boy quickly dropped his hand and looked at Yuj apologetically.

"I'm sorry, mister."

"It's all right. Dajh, is it?" Yuj said, giving the boy a friendly smile. "I'm Yuj."

Dajh's face lit up.

"I'm Dajh." the boy chirped, then excitedly tugged at Sazh's hand, "and this is my daddy!"

Yuj turned his smile to Sazh, briefly stealing a glance at the three teenagers at the back.

"So I see," he responded to Dajh, turning back to Sazh. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Katzroy. I'm Yuj Villiers, Snow's brother. Why don't you all come in? I'm sorry to say the rest of my family isn't here to greet you. They returned to the cafe this morning to open up."

"Nothing to be sorry about, and the pleasure's all mine, young man," Sazh heartily replied, grinning, "especially with what your brother did for my girls. How's he doing?"

Yuj chuckled.

"You could ask him yourself, Mr. Katzroy," he chimed, stepping aside and allowing a view of Snow on a hospital bed, wearing a patient's gown, a bandana and a big smile.

"There's the hero!" Sazh exclaimed as he fronted the line leading into the room. He approached the bed, placed a hand on Snow's shoulder and, sounding like any grateful father, said, "I can never thank you enough for saving my girls. If you hadn't been there... I don't even want to think about what could have happened. My wife will be here soon. You're in for a big, motherly hug and I hope you're ready for it."

Snow laughed.

"Sounds good, Mr. Katzroy. I haven't had one of those in a while."

Sazh shook his head in amusement.

"Humble and a sense of humor. Makings of a good man."

"Daddy, Daddy!" Dajh squealed, bouncing. "I wanna hug the hero, Daddy!"

Snow, seeing the questioning look Sazh gave him, beamed at Dajh and said, "I'll take all hugs I can get."

"Okay," Sazh chuckled, picking up the excited boy and holding him up.

Dajh gently hugged Snow around the neck.

"Thanks for saving my sisters, hero! I love them and you saved them. Thank you!"

Snow grinned, patting the boy on the back once.

"No problem, kiddo."

Suddenly, Dajh frowned.

"You're really cold," the boy noted in confusion. "Are you getting sicker?"

Snow reared back, grin still in place.

"Nah, kiddo. I just get chilly easy. I'm gonna be fine."

"Oh, okay," Dajh mumbled. "Maybe you need more blankets!"

Snow chuckled.

"Thanks, but I'll be okay, kiddo."

As Sazh put Dajh down, the boy squeaked, "Is that candy? Can I have some candy, Daddy?"

Sazh looked at Yuj, who smiled and nodded, then back at his son.

"Okay, but don't spoil yourself for lunch."

"Okay!" the boy chirped, darting towards the bowl of treats on a table.

Serah slowly let go of Lightning's hand and joined Sazh by the bed, gazing worriedly at Snow.

"How are you feeling, Snow?"

The blond young man flashed a bright smile.

"I feel great, Serah, just really dizzy. The docs wanna keep me for a day to make sure there's nothing else is wrong with me, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be home by tonight."

Lightning approached the bed, Hope trailing after her.

"I can't believe you're still wearing that," she said, nodding at bandana wrapped around Snow's head.

"I wanted to look good for visitors," Snow joked and winked, which seemed to have been directed at Serah, something Lightning decided to ignore this time.

"You look ridiculous," Lightning muttered, gesturing at the patient gown, and before Serah or Sazh could chastise her, she spoke again. "Snow," she started, glancing at Serah before turning back to him, her expression serious and honest. "Thank you," she said softly, sincerely.

"Yes," Serah echoed, using one hand to take Lightning's and placing the other on top of Snow's. "Thank you, Snow."

Snow grinned widely, looking giddy from all the attention, or maybe simply from having Serah touch his hand.

"Nah, it was nothing," he said. "I'm just glad I got to you girls in time."

The comment gave Lightning an unsettling feeling, one that reminded her of being in the Villers' home.

"How did you get to us so fast?" she asked, inwardly surprised by her own impulsiveness. "Weren't you at the shore with Gadot?"

If Snow's grin faltered, it was only for a few seconds before it curved right back up.

"Yeah, I was when you last looked, but I got a good head start. I saw the car heading for you and started running before it hit the shore. By the time you guys saw it, I was pretty much right there with you."

Lightning perfectly recalled the two voices that had been yelling at her and Serah to move. Neither Snow or Gadot had sounded like they were anywhere close.

"It was a pretty bad experience, Soldier Girl," Sazh murmured, gently rubbing her back. "Maybe your memory's a bit off. It happens."

Lightning hesitated, but, seeing Serah again, relented with a quiet, "I suppose so, sir."

Hope spoke up next.

"I'm glad you got to them in time, too, Snow," he mumbled, awkward but heartfelt. "Thanks, for what you did, and I'm sorry I was a jerk to you yesterday."

"Hey, like I said, buddy," Snow said warmly, "don't worry about it."

Looking relieved, Hope smiled a little.

"Thanks. I hope you get better soon."

"He'll need a lot of bed rest, however," Yuj remarked, making his way to bed as well. "We're not letting him run about the cafe for a while."

"That's the part that's not so great," Snow lightly grumbled, pouting.

"You should be thankful it's the worst of your worries, Brother," Yuj drawled, but he had spoken with affection.

"Yeah," Sazh agreed. "If that blow to the head you took isn't serious, then you're in pretty good shape for someone who got hit by a car."

"About that, Mr. Katzroy," Yuj began, getting Sazh's attention, "when your wife gets here, we'd like to talk to you about the incident, of the young couple responsible, in particular. Snow has a request regarding pressing charges."

Sazh looked at Snow, who regarded him with a hopeful expression.

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like this," Sazh muttered to himself, then he sighed. "Okay. When Nora gets here, we'll talk."

* * *

Lightning wasn't sure how it happened, but the evening run she had planned with Fang turned into an afternoon walk with Serah, Hope and Vanille in tow. There was some running involved, but it had quickly become a stroll through one of Bodhum's parks.

"I still don't know how Snow did that," Vanille said, referring to how Snow had convinced Sazh and Nora not to take any legal action against the drunk couple who had nearly run over Lightning and Serah.

Serah, walking beside Vanille, smiled at the redhead.

"He did save our lives," she pointed out, amused. "It was hard to say no to him."

Fang, taking the lead with Lightning, snorted.

"Wonder how many people have said that about him."

Lightning decided not to comment, though she secretly wished her sister would not be among those people. She was glad Serah couldn't see the smirk on her face, as she not only agreed with Fang's remark but also approved of it.

The group of teenagers eventually agreed that it was time for a break and found a couple of benches to sit on.

"I'm sorry about this, Fang," Lightning told her friend as they claimed one bench while Serah, Hope and Vanille took the other that was across them on the other side of the pavement. "I know this isn't going as planned," she paused to look at Serah, who was cheerfully talking to Hope and Vanille, "but I'm not forcing Serah to keep up with us."

"Is she okay?" Fang asked, concerned.

"She's fine if she paces herself right," Lightning said, not wanting to make Fang feel guilty for inviting Serah and Hope along when Vanille had asked to go with them. "She goes running with me sometimes. Though, not since we came here," she belatedly realized, "but when she did, she was fine. We just had to be careful."

"That why she didn't try out for track with you and why she sat out gym that one time?" Fang guessed, though it was more of a statement than a guess. "Something about her blood?"

Lightning narrowed her eyes.

"You knew."

Fang cocked her head at the bench across them, particularly at Vanille.

"Serah told Vanille. But Vanille didn't tell me much, said I should wait for you to tell me yourself. Oh," the brunette suddenly mumbled, blinking and looking sheepish. "You were about to tell me, yeah? Sounded like you were, or should I be apologizing for being a rude, insensitive asshole?"

Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"Rude, insensitive asshole?"

Fang grinned nervously.

"It's what Vanille calls me sometimes, when I say things I shouldn't. Minus the asshole bit," the taller teen added, chuckling. "Usually, it's 'jerk' or 'dummy'. Used to be a 'dodohead' when we were kids."

Lightning felt she shouldn't ask, but she did.

"What's a dodo?"

At that, Fang let out a full laugh.

"Hell if I know, Light. Vanille used to make up all kinds of words," Fang replied, casting the redhead a fond look before turning back to Lightning. "So..." the brunette started, nervous all over again, "was I being an ass?"

Lightning, noticing the apologetic, hopeful look in those green eyes, smiled a little.

"No, Fang, you weren't," she said, her smile turning wistful. "I was going to tell you about Serah."

"Has she... always been like that?" Fang awkwardly asked, clearly worried about the question being inappropriate.

"For as long as I can remember," Lightning murmured, thinking back on exactly how long ago that was. "I was five and she was three. We just moved in our house in Palumpolum and haven't finished packing yet. Serah and I were racing each other around the house, using the boxes and the furniture as obstacles. When she stopped, I thought she was just trying to catch her breath..." Lightning trailed off, sighing shakily.

"Yeah?" Fang said softly, letting her know she didn't have to continue.

Lightning shook her head to the unspoken offer. She crossed her legs and then her arms.

"Yeah," she echoed through a whisper. "It turned out, Serah couldn't breathe at all," she managed to say, the memory of seeing her little sister curled up on the floor, of running to their mother as fast as she could still so vivid in her mind. "Serah has a chronic blood disorder," she told Fang. "Her body isn't producing enough red blood cells. She gets tired easily and it's dangerous for her to overexert herself. The harder she breathes, the harder it is for her body to get oxygen. It's even more dangerous if she bleeds, or when she's bleeding monthly. Her periods have been getting worse by the month."

"No way to cure it?" Fang asked, discreetly glancing Serah's way.

"Serah reacted badly to blood transfusions," Lightning said, frowning slightly as she thought of those times, "and my parents felt a bone marrow transplant was too big a risk. Looking back, I agree with them. They put her on iron supplements instead and she's been on them since. It does enough for her, keeps her from feeling too weak and allows her to do some athletics."

"But she still can't play a full game of veloball or be in the track team?" Fang guessed, which, again, wasn't really a guess. "That why you were reluctant to try out for the team, and why you've never tried at all?"

Lightning nodded.

"Before, when we still thought there was a cure, Serah told me we were going to join the track team when we reach high school. Then she said we could go on and be track and field stars in the future," she stopped and smiled sadly. "That was a long time ago. It wasn't brought up again until last year, when she started her freshman year, but by then I was too busy with my jobs."

"Would you have, if you weren't?"

Lightning let out a humorless laugh.

"No," she said, but she had a feeling Fang knew that, "and if Serah hadn't insisted, I wouldn't have given Coach Taylor's offer a second thought. Still," she murmured, "maybe I shouldn't have. It's something she's wanted but can't do. I feel like I'm flaunting it by joining the team."

Fang was the one to raise an eyebrow at her this time.

"I'm not good at reading people, Light, but know what I saw when Coach Taylor said you made the team? I saw one very proud baby sister and it wasn't Vanille. Vanille was still pissed at me for not doing her stupid cheer moves."

Lightning stared at Fang, letting the words sink in and remembering how happy Serah had looked for her. Slowly, she began to smile.

"I think you're right, Fang."

Fang preened.

"I think I am, too."

Lightning glanced back at Serah, who noticed her looking and smiled at her. Her own smile wavered, but not by much.

"She's stronger than I give her credit for," she realized, shaking her head, not at her sister but at herself. "I didn't want anyone else to know about her condition because I didn't want her to be treated like she would break easy, but it looks like I'm the only one who treats her that way."

Fang stared at her like her hair wasn't pink anymore.

"There's nothing wrong with the way you treat Serah, Light," her friend told her with incredible conviction. "I do the same with Vanille, and if she could die from running too much, damn right I won't let her overdo it."

Lightning let out a soft laugh.

"Thanks, Fang."

"But...?" Fang prompted, sensing it.

"But," Lightning chimed, "I think I should have more faith in her," she admitted. "I kept thinking she resented me for joining the track team but she's never shown even the slightest indication of it. Just recently, I thought she would throw herself at any man she finds remotely attractive." Sighing, Lightning shook her head and said, "I should trust her."

"Hey," Fang protested, looking particularly miffed, "it's not about trusting her, it's about not trusting the bastards and bitches who are after her."

"I know," Lightning said, part of her vehemently agreeing with Fang, "but I think she should get a chance to form her own opinion. Serah's growing up. I should let her think for herself."

"I don't care how old Vanille gets," Fang muttered, sneaking a glare at Hope and scowling. "She'll always be my baby sister. They can come get her if they want her, but no way in hell I'm going to bow out just because she's 'old enough'. If they don't have the nerve to tell me face to face that they're interested in Vanille, they're not worth it. If she has to go behind my back to be with them, they're not worth it, either. I'm her sister. I'll always be her sister. Anyone who can't deal with that doesn't deserve her."

Lightning blinked, taken aback by the outburst but not really surprised.

"You're not exactly personable, Fang," she lightly teased when she recovered, though she could easily say the same for herself.

Fang snorted.

"Not my problem."

Lightning laughed.

"I like the way you think, Fang."

Fang's scowl instantly turned into a big, crooked grin.

"Yeah?"

Lightning smiled and nodded.

"Yeah."

They went quiet for a while, contented to simply sit next to each other, watching people pass by and occasionally checking on the three younger teens on the bench across. In one instance, Lightning saw Serah talking to Hope and caught Vanille looking at her and Fang. The redhead, upon noticing her gaze, quickly turned away and joined Serah and Hope's conversation.

What Lightning said next, she knew she only did because it was written all over Fang's face.

"Would you like to race, Fang?"

Fang blinked, as though wondering if it was a trick question.

"Uh," came the rare stutter from the taller teen, "do you?"

Lightning knew what the question meant. The last time races were mentioned between them, Lightning had snapped at Fang, but after discovering more startling things like how her family used to live with the Raineses, not remembering that she used to play a game with a childhood friend wasn't as nearly as bothersome anymore.

"Yes," Lightning responded confidently, standing up and sending a challenging smirk at Fang. "Unless you're scared to lose, Shorty?"

The sight of Fang gawking and looking utterly stupefied nearly sent Lightning into a giggle fit. She managed to hold out long enough for Fang to snap out of it and return her smirk.

"Like hell I am," Fang played along, springing to her feet and drawing close to Lightning, no doubt to boast that two-inch height advantage.

Quirking a brow at the move, Lightning nonchalantly stepped forward and gave Fang a once over, making a show of not looking impressed.

"Good," she chimed, stepping back to survey the area. "From that tree," she said, pointing at a particularly large tree just a few feet away from the bench Serah, Hope and Vanille were occupying, "to the fountain?" she asked, this time pointing at the massive piece of architecture that was about a hundred yards away.

Fang's eyes went from one designated spot to the other.

"You got it," the taller teen said a moment later, grinning smugly.

Serah, Hope and Vanille, taking notice of them, stood up and approached them.

"What's going on?" Hope asked, looking from Fang to Lightning.

"Light and I are going to race from that tree to the fountain," Fang answered simply, then proceeded to make her way to the tree.

"That sounds like fun, Claire," Serah said, smiling at Lightning, who smiled back.

"Ooh," Vanille cooed, "I want to wave the flag! Let me find one- ooh!" She bounced over to Hope, tugged at the green scarf around his neck and asked, "Can I borrow this, Hope?"

"Y-yeah, sure," the blond boy stuttered, squeaking shyly when Vanille leaned in close and gently pulled the scarf free from his neck.

"Got it!" Vanille chirped, giving Hope a hug as thanks and then skipping after Fang.

Everyone else followed the Raines sisters to the tree. Vanille took her position as Lightning and Fang stepped in line with the tree. Lightning watched as Fang dropped down to a perfect starting stance.

"Used to be Coach Taylor's star runner," Fang helpfully reminded her and everyone present.

Lightning laughed, amused with the half-hearted bragging, then fell into a stance exactly like Fang's.

"Hey, no fraternizing with the enemy!" Vanille barked at both of them as she raised Hope's scarf in the air. "Ready. Set. Go!"

Vanille waved the scarf. Lightning and Fang were off before her hand fell to her side. Fang sprinted ahead, taking long, powerful strides towards the fountain. Lightning wasn't far behind, managing to stay close without exerting as much effort.

"Oh, Claire," Serah murmured, shaking her head.

"What? What is it?" Vanille asked, keeping her eyes on Fang and Lightning.

"Yeah," Hope seconded, but with much less pep. "What is it?"

"Claire's lagging behind on purpose. She's going to run past Fang just before they reach the end," Serah said, shaking her head again and smiling fondly. "Our Mom used to do it to our Dad."

Past the halfway mark, Fang was still ahead, though barely.

"Getting tired, Fang?" Lightning teased.

Fang growled and darted ahead, managing to put a considerable gap between them. Lightning allowed it until the race was down to less than fifteen yards. She caught up to Fang, smiling when Fang looked at her, then she easily took the lead.

"What the- hey!" Fang barked, snarling in frustration.

Lightning laughed, which turned into a gasp when, suddenly, Fang leaped at her, snagging her in a tackle that sent both of them to the ground. They landed hard on the grass, Fang managing to twist them in air the last second to take the brunt of the fall.

When Lightning opened her eyes again, she was staring up at the sky. She felt arms wrapped around her waist and a warm body under hers.

"Ow," Fang, otherwise known as her cushion, mumbled sheepishly.

Lightning, her back pressed to Fang's front, had no trouble imagining the silly, confused expression on Fang's face just from hearing that one word.

"Light?" Fang wheezed, slowly sitting up while still holding her. "You okay? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to- you were- I didn't think- I... I... wasn't thinking."

At that, Lightning laughed. Not quite a giggle fit, but close.

"Light...?" came the nervous call.

"Wow," Lightning breathed, comfortably leaning on Fang. "You were right."

There was a pause, a moment spent wondering if she had hit her head, no doubt.

"I was?"

"Yes," Lightning said, smiling. "You really are a sore loser."

Behind her, she could feel Fang start to laugh with her.

"So, rematch?"

"As long as you don't tackle me again. I told you, I'm not much for contact sports."

"But you said you liked playing with me."

"Not if you keep rolling me around the dirt, I won't."

At a safe distance, Hope and Vanille were gaping at the sight. They looked at each other, then looked at Serah.

"Did your parents use to do that, too?" Hope asked, gaze already darting back to Lightning and Fang.

Serah, who had yet to take her eyes off the pair since the tackle happened, was again shaking her head.

**.**

**Note:**

Serah's condition is complete, utter bullshit and probably requires an above average level of suspension of disbelief, as do the rest of the medical what have you.


	6. Chapter 06: Set in Motion, Part II

**Apply Standard Disclaimers Here**

**.**

**The Twilight Zone  
****Chapter 06: Set in Motion, Part II  
****By: E.G. Szyslak** [05/16/12-06/02/12]

**.**

"_Daddy!" she cried, all that she was able to do before a hand covered her mouth and she was lifted off the ground._

_She kicked her feet and tried to scream, but only a gasp came out. The man who had her was holding her too tightly, nearly crushing her chest with his arm. His big, cold hand was pressed right under nose, barely letting her breathe. It was hard enough to do when she was so scared, when she her heart was beating so fast and she couldn't stop shaking._

_She wanted to go to her father. He was just a few steps away._

"_What a brave little girl you are," the man said to her, "hiding your sister like that so we couldn't find her. And so young, too. How old are you, sweetheart? Four? Five? I have trouble with children's ages these days. What a brave little girl," he said again, making her shudder in fright._

_His voice was as cold as his hand. It made her think of snakes._

"_Daddy must be so proud of you, Claire. That's your name, isn't it? Claire. Brave little Claire."_

"_Put her down," her father muttered, his clenched fists shaking. "Put my daughter down."_

"_Did I mention she didn't even cry?" the man taunted, pulling away the hand on her mouth so he could pat her head. "Not one tear. Isn't that right, Claire?"_

_She bit her lip, knowing she shouldn't say anything to this man, knowing she shouldn't listen to him. The man tilted her head and she felt something sharp touch her neck. That was when something changed. The look on her father's face had changed. He didn't look afraid anymore. He looked angry, the kind of anger she had she never seen before, the kind of anger she thought she would never see on her father's face._

_It was the last thing she saw, that look. The last thing she heard was her father screaming at the man, and then it all went black._

Lightning woke up with a start, jerking forward and sitting upright in an instant. She touched her throat and looked around frantically, taking a moment too long to recognize her and Serah's room, to realize she had been dreaming. Then the headache came, easily the worst she has had, and even that took too long.

When it finally, thankfully passed, she touched her throat one more time, made sure she felt only the warmth of her own hand, and then she looked at the time. It was only three in the morning. She had never woken up this early. She wondered if that meant the dream wasn't over yet.

Ridiculous, she thought, her gaze drawn to the window. Quickly, she got of bed and checked on Serah, then she went straight to the window. There was nothing out there, just like all the other times she looked, and just like all those other times, she didn't feel any better about it.

* * *

At the Raines' residence, Vanille was startled awake by a violent shake and an urgent, desperate whisper.

"Van? Van, wake up. Van! Wake up, damn it. Wake up. Please. Please wake up."

Vanille opened her eyes, looking ready to yell at Fang for waking her up at such an ungodly hour, but when she saw the frightened, lost look on Fang's face, all the grumpiness turned into worry.

"Fang?" she called, sitting up. "What's wrong, Fang? Did something happen?"

Fang, still panting, still trembling, slowly let go of Vanille's shoulders.

"No," came the ragged, hollow answer. "I just... needed to see you were okay."

Vanille cupped Fang's face in her hands, trying to make those blank green eyes focus on her.

"Did you have a bad dream?" she asked gently.

Fang looked down, brows furrowed and mouth set in a stubborn line.

"No."

Vanille frowned.

"You're lying."

"My head hurts," Fang muttered, dropping to the bed.

Vanille brushed hair away from Fang's face.

"Have you told Dad?"

"Yeah, last week."

"Last week?" Vanille echoed, confused. "How long has your head been hurting?"

"Don't know. Only hurts in the morning. Stop fussing," Fang mumbled, voice slightly muffled by the pillow she had grabbed to nuzzle.

"Did he give you something for it?"

"Yeah."

"Have you taken it today?"

"No."

Vanille sighed.

"Take it."

"No," Fang said again, but in a much smaller voice. "Can I... stay here for a while? I just need to know you're okay."

Vanille looked at Fang, saw the pleading look in her sister's eyes and couldn't say no.

"Okay," she relented, settling back on the bed and letting Fang hold her like she used to when they were kids, both of them falling back asleep within minutes.

* * *

Lunch at NORA started off like usual, with the cafe busy and filled mostly with students. Yuj greeted them and showed them to their usual table outside, but it was Maqui who stepped up as their waiter.

"Hi, guys," the blond boy said, smiling pleasantly as he handed out menus. "Yuj told me lunch is on the house today, courtesy of Mr. Katzroy. He's very grateful that couple was at least taken to custody."

Fang blinked. Vanille was the first one in the table to have a verbal reaction.

"Ooh."

Serah laughed.

"You should save us from drunk drivers more often, Fang," she quipped.

Lightning gave her sister a look.

"Let's not make a habit of standing in front of moving cars, Serah."

"Agreed," Hope said, nodding.

"Maqui, how's Snow?" Serah asked.

"He's doing well. He's resting upstairs right now," Maqui answered, turning to Serah. "I'll be filling in for him for a few more days, maybe until the end of the week, but he's doing great. We're just being careful."

"You should," Lightning agreed, then sincerely added, "It's good to know he's all right."

Serah nodded.

"It is. Give him our best, Maqui."

"Ours, too," Vanille said, reaching over to grab Fang's hand.

Maqui's smile grew.

"Will do. He'll appreciate it."

With that and a brief browse of the menu, they ordered their food, making the most of the free meal, and picked out their drinks from the beverage bars. When they all returned to the table, Serah looked around and spoke up.

"Everyone's staring at us," she murmured, immediately looking at Lightning.

"Makes sense," Fang said. "You're eating at the place where the guy who saved you works. That was in the news, yeah? Not a lot of excitement here in Bodhum. Stuff like that is a big deal. Don't know if this makes you feel better, but Van and I have people bothering us, too. Can't be nearly as bad as you and Light, though."

Serah nodded, but she did appear more grateful.

"At least no one's crowding us here."

"They better not," Lightning muttered, pointedly ignoring the stares and the loud gossip from the surrounding tables, "and if one more person asks me if I'm Snow's girlfriend, I'll be responding with my fist."

"I've heard that one," Hope chimed, and everyone else at the table expressed similar claims. "It looks like there's already several versions of the story going around school.

The one I heard had you and Snow arguing, Light. Serah was trying to calm things down, then the car showed up and Snow saved you both."

Lightning rolled her eyes.

"Of course."

"Let me guess," Fang drawled, "they kissed and made up when she went to see him in the hospital?"

Hope looked at Fang in surprise.

"Yeah. Is that what you heard, too?"

Fang gave a little shrug and a grin.

"Just sounded like something right out of those romance novels you read. You sure you didn't make that one up?"

When Hope turned bright red, Vanille shot Fang a disapproving look and turned back to the blond boy.

"Don't listen to Fang, Hope," she told him, patting his hand in comfort. "Half the time, she doesn't know what she's talking about, trust me. I think it's nice you like romances novels. It means you're sensitive! A lot of girls like that."

Hope shyly met Vanille's eyes.

"Really? Do you mean it?"

Vanille beamed and nodded.

"I sure do! Besides, Fang was just poking a little fun at you. I'm pretty sure that means she thinks of you as a friend."

Fang snorted.

"See? She didn't even deny it!" Vanille boasted, looking at Fang with a sweet smile. "Oh, oh, Lightning!" the redhead exclaimed when her gaze strayed to the blonde teen, who was sitting beside Fang. "The rumor I heard was more dramatic! This one says you caught Snow kissing Serah at the parking lot and you fought about it so much none of you noticed the car, but Snow managed to save you two the last second!"

Lightning pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Some people said he did it because he felt guilty," Vanille went on, oblivious to Lightning's growing exasperation, "but most of them think he did that so he could get away with cheating. There's no way you could have stayed mad at him for cheating on you after he saved your life."

"Wow," was all Serah managed to say, while Lightning simply closed her eyes and hoped to purge the recent conversations from her mind.

"I heard all three of them were about to go at it in the parking lot and Snow only saw the car coming because he happened to be looking that way."

At that, everyone on the table looked at Fang, who had bluntly uttered those awful, awful words.

"What?" Fang grunted when everyone continued to stare at her. "You should hear the ones about you two," the brunette said, gesturing at the Farron sisters.

Lightning let out a pained groan.

"I'd really rather not, Fang."

"Want me to beat up the guy who said it?" came the casual, eager offer.

"What? No!" Serah said, mortified.

"Yes," Lightning responded with no hesitation.

"Claire!"

"I was kidding, Serah," Lightning assured her sister. "So was Fang, I'm sure."

"Kidding. Sure..." Fang mumbled. "And if I said I already beat up the guy, I'd be kidding, too. Yeah."

Trying not to let her amusement show, Lightning turned back to the rest of the table and said, "We should talk about something else."

"Yes," Serah agreed, and so did everyone else.

It wasn't long before Maqui walked out of the doors and served them their food. The teenagers ate leisurely, enjoying both their meals and the new conversation that had nothing to do with Snow and the rumors surrounding his heroics. Halfway through her plate, Serah stopped and made a move to stand up.

"What's wrong, Serah?" Lightning asked, as the others also paused and looked on.

"I need to go to the restroom," the younger Farron said, gesturing at the two empty glasses near her plate and looking sheepish. "I was really thirsty when we got here. It looks like it finally caught up to me."

"I'll go with you," Lightning volunteered, already setting her silverware aside.

Serah waved off the offer.

"No, it's okay, Claire. You guys keep eating. I'll be back soon."

Lightning hesitated.

"Are you sure? It won't be any trouble."

Serah laughed.

"Which is why you don't have to accompany me, Claire."

"All right, Serah," Lightning relented a moment later.

Serah smiled and went on her way, entering the cafe and heading for the restrooms. Then she stopped, her smile dropping when she saw the long line to the ladies' room. Immediately, she recalled a similar circumstance when Vanille suggested using the Villiers' restroom instead. That time, Serah thought it wasn't the proper thing for her to do, as it had been her first visit to NORA and she had only met Yuj then.

Glancing at the stairs leading to the second floor, Serah came to a decision and sought out one of the Villiers. She found Gadot, who seemed surprised but told her she was more than welcome to use the restroom upstairs. Before she did, she called her sister.

"_Serah? Why are you calling me from inside the cafe? Is everything all right?"_

"I'm okay, Claire. The line to the ladies' room is long. I asked Gadot if I could use the restroom upstairs and he said I could. I called to let you know, and to tell you that I might go see Snow."

Lightning was silent, but not as long as Serah expected.

"_All right."_

This time, it was Serah who hesitated.

"Do you want to go with me, Claire?"

"_It's fine, Serah,"_ came the sincere, reassuring response. _"Just don't take too long."_

Serah was practically beaming.

"I won't. I'll tell Snow you said hi."

"_Keep that up and I'll let Fang eat your steak."_

Serah laughed, both from her sister's remark and the confused, curious Fang she heard in the background just before the call ended.

Putting her phone away, she discreetly approached the stairs and went to the second floor. She quickly did her business and lingered in the hallway for a while, wondering whether or not to see Snow. Figuring she was already there, she began to head to Snow's room, remembering where it was from the tour Maqui had given her and Hope that weekend.

She stopped suddenly, realizing she didn't know if Snow was even awake. Her doubts were immediately put to rest when she noticed Snow's door was wide open and she saw him sitting on his bed, wearing headphones and holding a gamepad.

Knocking on the door, Serah spoke.

"Snow?"

The blond young man turned to the sound of her voice and broke into a grin, looking pleased to see her.

"Hey, Serah," Snow greeted happily as he pulled the headphones down to his neck. "Having lunch downstairs? What brings you up here?"

Nodding at his first question, Serah stepped inside the room.

"I asked to use the restroom here," she said, suddenly feeling sheepish. "Gadot said I could. I hope that wasn't too forward of me."

Snow sent her concerns away with a good-natured chuckle.

"Too forward? Nah. Vanille and Fang do that sometimes. Don't worry about it, Serah," he assured her. "It's just a small perk for being a friend of the family."

"You guys must have a lot of friends," Serah joked as she took a seat on a chair that was next to the bed.

Snow chuckled again.

"Not many. We'd probably get more if we gave out free food. Speaking of free food," he added, "tell Hope his mom still has a free meal waiting for her here. You know what we say around here: your first meal at NORA is on the house, Nora!"

"I'll tell him," Serah said, smiling, "and I won't abuse the restroom privilege, I promise."

Snow returned her smile with a big one of his own.

"I'm glad you went this time. It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too, Snow," Serah murmured, starting to feel shy and hoping she isn't already blushing. "I can't stay long but I wanted to see you. How are you feeling?"

"I feel pretty good right now," Snow replied, shifting under the covers. "Kinda bored, and this is one of the few things I can do in bed," he added, cocking his head at the big screen across the room.

Serah glanced at the screen.

"Isn't too much light and sound stimulation bad for you right now?" she asked, frowning in concern.

Snow blinked, but quickly chuckled.

"Nah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it, Serah."

"Well, if you're sure..." Serah trailed off, relenting.

"So," he said, putting the gamepad down, "how's it going in the outside world?"

"Everyone at school is talking about you," Serah answered, then quickly corrected herself, "everyone in town is talking about you. They're calling you a hero."

"In town? Hero?" Snow echoed, looking surprised. "Wow, that's crazy," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck and frowning. "I mean, yeah, I took a hit for you and your sister, but it was just a bump on the head. It was nothing."

Though charmed by the young man's modesty, Serah couldn't accept it.

"It wasn't nothing," she said, looking him in the eye. "You saved our lives, Snow. I'm happy you weren't seriously injured but that doesn't make it mean any less. If you hadn't been there..." she paused, taking a deep breath to calm herself, to stop the shaking in her voice. "If you hadn't been there," she repeated, her voice lowered, but it was steady and clear, "something may have happened to my sister. I could have lost her."

Snow lowered his gaze, and Serah couldn't understand why he looked so conflicted and guilty.

"I couldn't let that happen," he whispered, and in the strangest of ways, it sounded like a shameful confession.

"You didn't, Snow," Serah whispered back, bravely reaching for his hand, "and I'll never be able to thank you enough for it. I'm safe because of you. My sister is safe because of you, and that means the world to me."

Snow stared at her hand, which was over his, and cracked a shy grin.

"Well, when you put it that way..." he trailed off, chuckling.

Serah giggled in agreement and patted his hand, which was when she noticed he was wearing gloves.

"Are you feeling cold, Snow?" she asked, also noticing that his shirt had long sleeves.

"A bit," he admitted, turning his hand so he could cradle her hand in his palm, "but I'm okay."

"Okay," she echoed, gingerly taking her hand back, awed at how small it had looked in his palm. "I should go back downstairs," she said, realizing she had stayed longer than she should have. "I hope you get better soon, Snow."

"Thanks, Serah," Snow said, grinning more and seeming back to his cheerful, confident self. "Hey," he called as she was leaving, making her stop at the doorway, "can I ask something?"

Serah looked over her shoulder, gazing at Snow curiously.

"Yes?"

"I was wondering..." he started, again rubbing the back of his neck in an obvious sign anxiousness. "Can we forget about this hero thing? I just wanna be the guy you talked to in the kitchen two days ago, not the guy who saved you. I know you're grateful, but I don't want you or your sister to feel like you owe me anything. I'd like it if I'm just, you know, Maqui's brother. Just... Snow."

Serah was quiet for a moment as she looked as Snow, as if seeing him in an entirely different light all of a sudden.

"I'd like that, too, Snow," she said with a smile, a smile that didn't go away until she made it back to the table with her sister and her friends.

* * *

"Vanille, have you ever you liked someone you're not supposed to?"

Serah was asking this question two days later, as she and Vanille sat in the bleachers, watching the veloball and track teams practice in the field. The cheerleading team was also practicing but had recently taken a break, allowing Vanille to join Serah at the stands. Serah was happy for the company, as she had been alone prior, with Hope attending a theatre club meeting and Maqui needing to go straight to NORA after school.

Vanille, who had been staring at the field, giggled at her question.

"That depends on who you're asking, Serah," the redhead joked, glancing at Fang, who appeared to be getting an earful from Coach Hale and looking absolutely unrepentant about it. "Fang would say I'm not supposed to like anyone, but that's just how she is," Vanille said. "I bet Lightning feels the same way about you and boys. She's probably more subtle, though. And less violent."

"Subtle? Yes. Less violent? I'm not so sure," Serah remarked, turning her eyes back on the field and finding her sister running laps around it. "Claire used to get in a lot of fights with bullies who picked on me or made fun of our hair color. Eventually, though, all she had to do was look at people a certain way and they'd walk away. That's usually how she deals with boys."

"So," Vanille chimed, smiling knowingly, "what's different about this boy? Did he stand up to Lightning?"

"N-no," Serah blurted out, turning red. "It wasn't like that."

Vanille perked up.

"Ooh, then you stood up to Lightning for him? Aww, I'm kind of jealous!"

"Jealous?" Serah asked, confused.

"Jealous," Vanille chirped, nodding. "I wish I could meet someone I like enough to fight for." At Serah's silence, Vanille nudged her and said, "You and I know that, for all their scowling and growling, we have our big sisters wrapped around our little fingers. If I really liked someone, I'm going to make Fang play nice. It'll take a few good whacks but she'll do it. Seems like that's what happened between you and Lightning, just without the whacking."

Serah let out a little laugh, remembering how she had considered employing Vanille's brand of tough love on her sister.

"Claire and I did talk," she confirmed, then laughed again. "And I'm happy to say there was no whacking involved."

"Is it Maqui?" Vanille suddenly said.

Serah blinked in surprise.

"What...?"

"The boy, silly!" Vanille giggled, nudging her again. "Is it Maqui? I always thought he liked you! Why else did he run away like that? He probably thought you were so pretty he got nervous and ran away! No wonder he was so insistent about apologizing to you face to face. It all makes sense now!"

"Vanille, Maqui looked really ill when he saw me."

The redhead scoffed, waving it off.

"That could just be the face he makes when he sees a pretty girl! You're not going to reject him for a little thing like that, are you? He's never made that face again, so that's a good sign, isn't it?"

Serah was about to protest but was interrupted by Vanille, who had gone from excited to perplexed in an instant.

"Wait," the redhead mumbled, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed suspiciously, "it's not Maqui, is it? You said you like someone you're not supposed to. Is it Yuj?"

"No," Serah murmured, returning the suspicious look she was getting. "Why do you think it's a Villiers?"

"Just about everyone in school likes a Villiers," Vanille stated with a shrug. "Not me, though. I think they're nice to look at but I don't understand why people swoon over them. Fang's the same way. She won't even look at Lebreau twice! And that's weird because Fang usually can't take her eyes off a good-looking girl."

"Really? That's strange," Serah murmured, confused once again. "I don't think I've seen her staring at girls."

"Ohh, she has been," Vanille sang, along with waggling brows. "You just haven't noticed. Anyway, you didn't answer me, Serah!" the redhead immediately exclaimed, not giving Serah a chance to ask about Fang. "Come on, you can tell me. I won't judge you. Is it Yuj? I noticed you two looked awfully cozy in the couch that weekend. He's a bit old for you, though."

"It's not Yuj," Serah whispered, knowing Vanille's next guess would be right.

"Oh," came the sheepish mumbled. "Snow?"

Serah just nodded, afraid of further embarrassing herself.

"It's okay, Serah," Vanille assured her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "No one can blame you for liking the guy. He's cute, he's funny and he saved your life. Not a lot of people can resist that, you know."

Serah smiled a little.

"You're right."

Vanille nodded happily.

"It's just a harmless little crush, right? You're pretty smart, Serah. You're not going to think you're in love with him just because he saved your life. Snow's a good guy, too. He's not going to take advantage of you like that."

"He won't," Serah said. "He even told me he didn't want me to treat him differently because of it."

Vanille tilted her head, much like how Fang tended to do, but with a curious expression rather than a confused one.

"Then what's the problem? Why shouldn't you like him? It's not like that makes the two of you a couple."

"It doesn't," Serah agreed, remembering how she had said something similar to her sister.

"And it's not like you want that to happen," Vanille added, looking at her expectantly.

Serah bit her lip, avoiding Vanille's gaze.

"Is it bad if I do?" she asked quietly.

After a brief pause, Vanille asked right back, "Do you?"

Serah sighed and finally faced her friend.

"I really like him, Van," she said, "and I think he feels the same way about me."

"He does?" Vanille mumbled, clearly taken aback. "How do you know? Did he tell you?"

Serah shook her head.

"He didn't, but he doesn't have to. It's the way he looks at me, Van. It's like... it's like he knows me. It's like he... sees something in me. I can't really explain it."

A long silence followed, and as it stretched on, Serah mustered up the nerve to look at Vanille, but she couldn't read the expression on her friend's face.

"Wow," Vanille said, seemingly in awe. "You read one of Hope's romance novels, didn't you?"

It was such a Fang kind of response that Serah felt it was the most appropriate thing in the world to react accordingly. She smacked on Vanille on the arm. It was a gentle smack - Vanille wasn't even startled by it - but it made her feel a little better.

"Van," she whined, "I'm serious."

"So was I!" Vanille yipped, yet another Fang-like response. "I guess you really do like him, huh?" the redhead said, sounding more like herself.

"I guess so," Serah admitted, blushing and feeling nervous about the question she was about to ask. "What... what do you think, Van?"

"Of you and Snow?" Vanille asked, then frowned when she nodded. "I don't know, Serah," the redhead said, looking uneasy. "I think Snow is a great guy. He's cute, he's funny and he's a gentleman. But... I don't think he'd make a great boyfriend. There's something about him. I can't explain it."

Serah almost pouted.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"I'm not!" Vanille promised, reassuring her with a hug. "Okay, I'll try to explain it. Snow just... doesn't seem right for a relationship. I think he had to leave his girlfriend in Eden when they moved here and he's still heartbroken over it, or something like that. Not even Yuj gives me a straight answer when I ask him about it. But," the redhead went on, pulling away enough to look at her, "if Snow's interested in you, maybe he's over it. What are you going to do?"

Serah frowned.

"I don't know," she murmured, casting her eyes back on the field and searching for her sister. "When I talked to Claire about him, I told her she had nothing to worry about, that I didn't expect Snow and I would be anything but friends. But now..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "I'm afraid to tell her. It feels like I'm breaking a promise. I don't want her to think that I lied to her, that I've gone behind her back and made a fool out of her. I don't want her to think she can't trust me anymore."

"It's not like you're feeling this way on purpose, Serah," Vanille said, nudging her affectionately. "I'd tell, if I were you," the redhead advised. "If, say, I realize that I like Hope, I'm going to tell Fang as soon as possible. If I don't, she's going to think he and I have been together all along and we've been making a fool out of her. Sure, she'd be a grouch about it when I tell her, but like I said, I'd make her play nice. It's better to be honest."

Serah sighed, knowing Vanille was right.

"I envy our sisters," she grumbled as she watched her sister, who seemed to be having an amiable discussion with Coach Taylor. "They're so interested in our relationships that they don't bother to find their own," she bemoaned. "Aren't sixteen-year-old girls supposed to be hormonal and love-crazy? They're so weird."

"Maybe not that weird," Vanille quipped, giggling.

"What do you mean?" Serah said, turning to the redhead.

"Remember when I said Fang stares at pretty girls and you just never noticed?" Vanille asked, and Serah quickly nodded. "That's because there's only one girl Fang's been looking at, and you don't notice because it's-"

"- my sister," Serah blurted, eyes wide.

"Yup!" Vanille chirped. "My sister likes your sister and I think your sister likes her, too."

Serah blinked.

"Your sister... and my sister..."

"Think about it, Serah," Vanille urged excitedly. "You saw them during that race. They were flirting! You said yourself that your mom used to tease your dad the same way Lightning was teasing Fang."

Serah blinked again.

"I did say that, but I didn't mean it that way. At least, I don't think I did."

"And they were talking on the phone this morning," Vanille went on. "Yesterday, too. Both times, it was really early in the morning, around 5 AM. Fang is hardly ever on the phone, Serah. She won't stay still if she doesn't have to, but I've caught her sitting on her butt for hours, just talking to Lightning."

Serah looked at Vanille in shock.

"You're awake at 5 AM? Why?" she asked, and, as Vanille giggled, she realized no answer would make sense to her. "More importantly, why is Claire up that early?" she asked herself instead. "I know she likes to run sometimes, but are you saying they get up at 5 AM just to talk on the phone?"

"If they do, then that's cute and romantic, in a weird sort of way," Vanille remarked, sounding amused. "All I know is, I've never seen Fang like this. She may seem friendlier than Lightning, but Fang doesn't get along well with most people. They're either too sensitive to her charming tendency to say things normal people know not to say, or they're too intimidated by her. All those pretty girls she's stared at? She's never gone beyond looking because she couldn't be bothered to even talk to them, and when they talk to her, she doesn't flirt back."

Serah scanned the field again, this time for Fang. She saw the brunette sitting on a bench and watching the track team train. Even from the bleachers, she could tell Fang was looking at her sister.

"So Fang likes Claire," she murmured, not taking her eyes off the jock.

"A lot," Vanille added, following her gaze, "but she probably doesn't know that. Fang can be really dense about some things."

"And you think Claire likes her, too?"

Vanille nodded at her question.

"I think so," the redhead said, eyes switching to the track team as Coach Taylor allowed the team to take a short break. "You know her better than I do, Serah, but the only times I've seen Lightning smile and laugh a lot is when she's with you or Fang. When Fang tackled her, I thought she'd be angry, but she just laughed. And whatever she said, that was the first time I've seen Fang look so shy and flustered."

"Vanille!" a cheerleader called before Serah could say a word. "Break's over, come on!"

"Coming!" Vanille shouted back, getting up and giving Serah a quick hug. "Bye, Serah. I'll see you later!"

Laughing, Serah returned the hug.

"You, too, Vanille," she said, smiling as her friend practically bounced down steps and joined the rest of the squad.

Back on the field, Serah saw that her sister had joined Fang on the bench, the two appearing to be in the middle of a light, easy conversation.

Wait, Serah thought while watching the pair. Vanille wasn't interested Hope, she belatedly realized, then she groaned inwardly, wondering how she was going to break the news to her lovestruck brother.

* * *

That night, as Lightning sat in bed with a datalog, she was approached by a nervous-looking Serah.

"Claire, are you busy?"

"It's nothing pressing," Lightning amiably replied, closing the datalog and setting it aside. "Did you want to talk, Serah?" she asked, scooting over to make room.

Serah nodded and sat next to her, gladly accepting her unspoken invitation.

"We're going to Maqui's again this weekend to finish up our projects," her sister said, telling her something she already knew. "Maqui and I don't have much left to do, and neither do Hope and Vanille," came the quick follow up, getting her attention. "I talked to Vanille about it when she called earlier and we thought it'd be great to go to the beach when we're done, maybe even have dinner out there. Maqui and the others will be there, too. You and Fang should join us after work."

"I don't think Sazh and Nora would want you anywhere near the beach, Serah," Lightning remarked, though admittedly still surprised their adoptive parents had not insisted the group of teens go elsewhere to do their projects.

"I just asked them and they're okay with it," Serah told her, and then, seeming to notice her uneasiness, reached her for hand. "We'll be safe, Claire. Uncle said he spoke to a GC officer and told me they'll be sending out more frequent patrols to the beach. We'll be safe," her sister repeated, squeezing her hand. "I've always wanted to go to the beach at night. I don't want what happened to scare me from going."

Lightning sighed, not knowing how to tell Serah that she was more afraid of the Villiers' home than drunk drivers.

"You're right, Serah," she said instead, because it still meant her sister would be spending less time inside the second floor of NORA.

Serah's face lit up.

"So, you'll be there after work?"

Lightning nodded.

"I'll be there after work," she promised, smiling a little at her sister's enthusiasm.

Serah let out a small squeal and hugged her.

"I'm so glad, Claire," she heard her sister murmur. "I wouldn't have wanted to go without you."

Laughing softly, Lightning hugged Serah back.

"You should have just said so," she told her sister.

"I know," Serah said, pulling away enough to look at her, "but I didn't want you to go just because of me."

"That's mainly the reason I'm going, Serah," Lightning admitted, then immediately regretted it when she saw the crestfallen look on her sister's face. "It sounds like it'll be fun, though," she awkwardly but earnestly added.

Serah's frown quickly turned into a smile.

"It will be, Claire," her sister promised, bringing both feet on the bed and settling into a more comfortable position next to her. "What were you doing before?" came the curious question. "Is that Mom's datalog?"

"It is," Lightning said, taking the datalog and placing it on her lap.

"What were you looking at?" Serah asked. "Did you find more pictures with Fang and Vanille?"

Lightning shook her head.

"None other than the one in the beach."

"That's so strange," Serah murmured. "Do you think Fang was right about our families having a falling out? It must have been serious for Mom and Dad to not say a thing about people we used to live with." Her sister paused for a moment, then said, "That's strange, too, thinking about how our families lived in the same house."

"It is," Lightning agreed, wondering if it had been right to tell Serah the things she had learned from Fang, things their parents had kept secret and all she could do was wonder why. Still, she thought, Serah deserved to know.

"I wonder why they never told us," Serah said, saying aloud the same thing she had been thinking for days now.

"I don't know," was Lightning's quiet response, "but if Mom and Dad didn't want us to know about the Raineses, then I wouldn't have found that picture. I remember I used to catch Mom looking at something, but I never really saw what it was because she would hide it. I think it was this picture."

"Maybe it was just a keepsake," Serah guessed, "something to remember them by before things fell apart between our families."

"Maybe," Lightning echoed, not dismissing the idea but feeling it was lacking. "Do you remember when I told you Mom changed the password?" she asked, getting a nod from Serah. "She changed it to the day we moved to Palumpolum, the day we moved out of Bodhum. On her last few nights in the hospital, all she talked to me about was Bodhum. She never mentioned Fang or Vanille or their fathers, but..." she trailed off, shaking her head, "it felt like she was trying to tell me something. Something about them, about Bodhum."

"Is that what you were doing, Claire?" Serah asked gently, drawing closer to her. "Trying to see if Mom left anything else about the Raineses?"

"I wasn't," Lightning answered quietly as she opened the datalog. "I was looking through Dad's logs."

Displayed was a video on pause, showing their father in a wintry part of Pulse. It was snowing heavily, but his hood was pulled down, his red hair almost completely covered in snow, and he was smiling like he wasn't the least bit cold. Hanging in the night sky behind him was Cocoon, seeming to glow brighter than any of the stars.

At Serah's silent prompting, Lightning let the rest of the video play.

"_- onna be home soon, okay, sweetheart?"_ their father said, his lively green eyes looking so bright in the dreary weather. _"Take care of your mother and sister while I'm gone, yeah? I can't wait to see my girls again. I miss you all so much. Daddy loves you, Claire. Never forget that."_

"Is that..." Serah trailed off, watery eyes fixed on the image of their smiling father. "Is that one of the last Dad sent us before he-"

"No," Lightning cut in, not allowing her sister to finish the question. "This was much earlier, when Mom was only a few months pregnant with you. Dad had to leave for a long time and Mom told me these videos were one of the things that would make me stop pouting."

Serah shook her head, a sad, fond smile on her face.

"Dad's been telling you to watch over me since before I was born? No wonder you're overprotective, Claire."

With an agreeable hum, Lightning put an arm around her sister's shoulders and kissed the top of her head.

"See?" Serah bemoaned, rather, badly pretended to bemoan. "What kind of older sister does things like that? You act so much like Dad sometimes, Claire."

"Mhmm," Lightning hummed again, content to just hold her sister.

Serah leaned on her, head resting on her shoulder.

"I miss him," came the timid whisper a moment later, followed by a sniffle. "I miss Mom. I wish..."

Lightning held Serah closer.

"Me, too," she whispered back, knowing what her sister was going to say.

She closed the datalog, for good this time. At least for tonight, she thought. She slid it off her lap and placed it on the bed, not wanting to move away from Serah just yet.

"In two weeks, it'll be a year without Mom."

Lightning nodded at her sister's words.

"It will be."

Serah shifted to look at her.

"We're going to Palumpolum that day, aren't we? To see Mom and Dad."

Again, Lightning nodded.

"And bring them water-willows," she added, referring to their mother's favorite flower, flowers their father always came home with after long missions in Pulse.

Serah smiled and leaned on her again.

"They'd like that. Mom, especially."

Lightning gently rested her chin on her sister's head.

"Mom would love it," she murmured.

They stayed as they were for a while, quiet and comfortable. Lightning closed her eyes, reveling in the soothing presence of her sister. Their parents were gone, she thought, but she still had Serah. She still had Serah.

"Claire," she heard her name called softly.

Lightning, noticing the anxious tone, reared back to look at Serah, who had that same, nervous look on her face again.

"Yes?" she gently prompted.

Serah bit her lip, seeming to be having second thoughts, but eventually spoke up.

"I want to see Snow tomorrow at lunch."

"All right," Lightning responded evenly after a pause.

"I think-" Serah stopped, correcting herself. "I want you to go with me."

Lightning blinked.

"Why?"

"Because," Serah almost whined, blushing furiously and desperately avoiding eye contact. "Because I like him," the younger Farron blurted out, "and... and it doesn't feel right to be alone with him, not unless you're okay with it."

"You like him," Lightning repeated, voice and expression indifferent.

Serah flinched but bravely looked up to meet her gaze.

"I do," her sister confessed.

"Did this happen before or after we talked?" Lightning asked.

"After," Serah quickly, with no hesitation.

Lightning's eyes narrowed.

"Because of what he did?"

"A little," Serah admitted, "but that's not the only reason why. He's really sweet, Claire, and... noble. He didn't want me to treat him like a hero. He wants to be just a guy I know. He wants to be just Snow and I.. like that. It makes me feel like I'm more than just a girl he rescued."

When Lightning remained silent, Serah took the chance to continue.

"And," the younger Farron said, smitten expression turning serious, "I want you to know I still mean what I said before, Claire. My feelings may have changed, I may want to be with him, but not right now. I want to get to know him better first, be his friend first, before I even consider it, and I won't consider it at all if you're not okay with it. How you feel about this is important to me, Claire."

After that, Lightning didn't look pleased, but she didn't look upset, either. With a sigh, she had only one thing to say.

"All right."

Serah blinked.

"All right?"

Lightning simply nodded and got up from the bed, the datalog in her hands. She carefully placed it back in the box with the rest of their mother's things, then returned to her place beside Serah on the bed.

"Are you going to see Snow with me tomorrow?" her sister asked.

"Do you want me to?" she asked back, choosing to trust Serah and hoping it was the right decision.

"I do," Serah said, again with no hesitation.

Lightning started to smile.

"But you need to promise to stay nice to Snow."

Just like that, her smile turned into a scowl.

"Claire. Promise."

She sighed.

"Fine."

Serah smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Claire. That means a lot to me."

Lightning nodded, then took Serah's hand.

"Serah, I'm..." she started awkwardly. "I'm glad you told me about Snow," she finally said, realizing just then how much it meant to her that Serah had chosen to be honest with her.

"We're sisters, Claire," Serah told her fondly, smiling even more. "We're supposed to be telling each other things like that."

Lightning managed a smile of her own.

"I suppose so."

Serah tugged gently at her fingers, something her sister tended to do when giddy.

"You know, Claire, you never told me what your type is," her sister chimed, then giggled, "just that it's not Gadot."

"I thought I didn't have a type," Lightning drawled, teasing Serah with her own words.

Serah rolled her eyes.

"I know what I said, Claire, but you didn't exactly agree."

"I don't recall disagreeing, either," Lightning quipped, smirking as Serah glared at her.

"Were you going to?"

Lightning raised an eyebrow at the question, then noticed the serious, determined look on her sister's face.

"This is important to you," she realized, surprised.

Serah frowned.

"I just want to know what kind of person you're attracted to, or who," came the late mumble. "I was hoping you'd tell me instead of making me ask, Claire. I talked to you about Snow. You can talk to me, too."

Lightning stared at her sister, feeling hopelessly, utterly confused.

"It isn't something I think about, Serah," she said, careful with her words.

Despite her honest answer, Serah didn't look convinced.

"There's no one you like? No one - not one person - you find attractive?"

Lightning huffed.

"No," she half-heartedly snarled, feeling a little defensive.

"Not Gadot."

"We've established this, Serah."

"Snow?"

"If I say yes, will you stop liking him?"

"I'll fawn over him with you, Claire."

"Fu- no. No. No."

"How about Yuj? He's pretty."

"No."

"Lebreau? She's pretty, too."

"No."

"Maqui? He's cute!"

Lightning scowled, the strange interrogation starting to wear on her patience

"Why are we going through the Villiers?" she grumbled, looking almost petulant. "Are they the standard for attractive people now?"

"Oh, you don't like them, either," Serah murmured to herself, then asked, "What about that girl who's in the track team with you? She used to be a cheerleader."

Lightning gave her sister a strange look.

"The senior who still wears pigtails? No."

"What about the boy who's in your mathematics class?" Serah wheedled her on, unbelievably relentless. "He's really cute, and he's so quiet and serious, so... intense. And mysterious."

Lightning sighed, not as impressed.

"Serah, he sits in the back of the room and writes sad poetry about his ex-girlfriend."

"So... no?"

"No, Serah. No."

"What about..."

"Serah, can we please stop? I don't like-"

"- Fang?"

Lightning blinked, once, then twice, and then stared at Serah like her sister had turned four and had just asked her where babies came from.

"What?" was all she managed to say.

"Fang," Serah cheerfully repeated, seeming pleased with her reaction. "Do you like Fang, Claire?"

Lightning took a moment to speak again.

"Why Fang?" she asked.

"Why not?" Serah countered. "You like spending time with her, you've been talking to her on the phone every morning-"

"You know about that?" she interrupted, then immediately answered her own question with, "Vanille."

"Vanille," Serah confirmed with a nod. "As I was saying, you talk to Fang a lot - on the phone, in class, between classes, at practice, at work - she makes you laugh and you actually joke with her, Claire. I've never seen you so comfortable with anyone else before," her sister went on, sounding genuinely delighted for her. "You were flirting with her in the park, weren't you?"

"I was?" Lightning asked, looking even more confused. "When?"

"During the racing!" Serah squealed in excitement. "You were teasing her like Mom used to tease Dad! Do you remember, Claire? Dad wasn't a grouch about it like Fang, though. I still can't believe she tackled you. Fang likes you, too, you know. Vanille says you're the only one who's made Fang blush and stutter. Isn't that-"

"Serah," Lightning suddenly said, quieting her sister down. "I was just having some fun with Fang during the race. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Oh," Serah mumbled, sobering instantly. "So, you don't like Fang?"

"I've never thought of her that way," Lightning answered truthfully, and as she did, she realized she didn't outright say no, something Serah also seemed to notice.

"Do you think you will someday, Claire?"

Lightning was silent at first, wondering the same thing.

"I don't know, Serah," she eventually admitted. "Why are you being so insistent about this?" she asked, frowning. "Did Vanille say something to you? Does Fang want to be with me?"

Serah, sensing her distress, held her hand and squeezed.

"It's not that, Claire," her sister told her in a soothing, apologetic voice. "I'm sorry for being so pushy. Vanille and I were talking about you and Fang this afternoon and... it looks like I got carried away with the idea of you two being together. I thought that, even after all the hints I was giving you, you were still too shy to tell me. I just really wanted you to know that you could talk to me about these things."

As Serah's sincere words sunk in, Lightning responded with a squeeze of her own hand.

"I do know that, Serah," she said, then managed a small smile. "If I do end up liking someone, you'll be the first to know. I promise."

Serah broke into a grin and hugged her.

"I'm holding you to that, Claire," her sister playfully remarked. "And about Fang..." Serah began, "you don't have to worry about it. Vanille said Fang doesn't even realize she has feelings for you, and maybe that's because she doesn't. Vanille and I were wrong about you, so maybe we're wrong about Fang, too."

"Maybe," Lightning murmured, then she shook her head, not wanting to dwell on it. "Did Vanille say anything else about the phone calls?" she asked, careful with her words.

"Just that you and Fang talk at ungodly hours of the morning," Serah said, looking incredulous. "Vanille thought it was some kind of romantic thing you two were doing, but what is it, really, Claire? I can't imagine you waking up at 5 AM just to talk to a friend, and why in the world would Fang do the same thing?"

"I've been waking up early lately," Lightning replied, not wanting to tell Serah about her dreams, especially not the nightmare about the man with the cold hands and the cold voice. "Fang is strange. She wakes up early and she likes it. We've been passing the time talking."

"Have you been having trouble sleeping, Claire?" Serah asked, frowning. "Is something bothering you?"

"It's nothing like that, Serah," Lightning quickly reassured her sister. "It's just an unfortunate case of waking up too early and not being able to go back to sleep."

"That's horrible," Serah uttered in horror.

Lightning nodded.

"It is."

Serah hugged her, murmuring, "I hope it stops soon, Claire."

"Me, too," Lightning whispered, thinking of their father's angry face and wondering if it would always be the first image that would come to mind whenever she thought of him.

"Does talking to Fang make it bearable?"

She smiled a little at the question.

"It does."

"I'm glad," Serah said, leaning on her, head tucking under her chin. "You know I'd keep you company, too, if you wanted me to."

"I know, Serah," Lightning responded sincerely, but then, unable to help herself, teasingly added, "I doubt you'd wake up, though."

"Probably not," Serah shamefully agreed, "and if you do manage, I'd be grouchy and make the morning even worse for you."

"You would," Lightning murmured lovingly, again kissing the top of her sister's head. "Thank you, Serah, but there's no reason both of us should be losing sleep. Because you offered, though, I might wake you up one day to watch the sunrise with me."

"Ugh," Serah groaned. "You're evil."

Lightning laughed and pressed another kiss to her sister's head.

"You're changing, Claire," came the remark after a short spell of silence. "At first I thought it was because you were in love, but I'm really happy to know that it isn't. I love that you're changing on your own, because you want to and not because of something or someone."

"Changing?" Lightning echoed, tempted to pull back to look at her sister.

"Yes, in a really, really good way," Serah said, likely with a smile. "You seem... happier, more relaxed. Back in Palumpolum, ever since Mom got sick, you were always busy, always working, and you just kept to yourself. Now, you're in the track team, you have a job you actually like, you're making friends, and you just spent the last hour talking to me about things we wouldn't have talked about it just a month ago."

Lightning was taken aback by how right Serah was. All this time, she thought moving to Bodhum had only been good for her sister. She never stopped to think that, despite the bad mornings, Bodhum was doing her some good, too.

"It's nice to have my big sister back," Serah cooed, genuinely delighted, "and it's nice to have a big sister who's starting to act more like an actual teenager. A weird one, but it's still nice."

"Thanks," Lightning muttered dryly, making no attempt to hide her amusement.

"Mhmm," Serah hummed, then seemed to turn serious. "I'm sorry again about Fang. And I wasn't calling you weird because of that. I don't think you're weird for not liking anyone, Claire. I just felt so sure about you and Fang..."

"It's all right, Serah," Lightning reassured her sister, then smiled, recalling something from their earlier conversation. "So, why couldn't other girls make Fang blush and stutter?"

Serah giggled.

"Jealous that other girls tried, Claire?" she joked, drawing back to give her a teasing smile. "Actually, it's more like no one else has had a chance. It turns out, Fang doesn't really care to socialize, another thing you two have in common. If you have a change of heart about Fang, Claire, you have my blessing."

"I appreciate that, Serah," Lightning quipped, playing along, "but I'm not about to say the same about Snow."

Serah sighed dramatically.

"The most I'm going to get is having you be nice to him, isn't it?"

Lightning nodded and said, "And that doesn't mean I won't make fun of his head."


	7. Chapter 07: Set in Motion, Part III

**Apply Standard Disclaimers Here**

**.**

**The Twilight Zone  
****Chapter 07: Set in Motion, Part III  
****By: E.G. Szyslak** [06/03/12-06/16/12]

**.**

The sisters' plan to see Snow was changed the following day, when Serah learned from Maqui that Snow felt well enough to work again and won't be free until the afternoon. With Lightning having track team practice after school, it was almost closing time at NORA by the time the Farrons arrived. NORA usually closed before dinner hours, the young proprietors reasoning that not a lot of people normally go to the beach at night.

Snow was the first Villiers the Farron sisters saw. He was manning one of the juice bars and had just served a customer a drink when he noticed them.

"Hey, you two," he warmly greeted them, flashing a friendly grin. "Here for a snack before you head home?"

"Hi, Snow," Serah cheerfully greeted back. "We'll just have something light, yes." The younger Farron glanced at her sister, then turned back to the blond waiter and said, "We're also here to see you."

"Me?" Snow said, looking surprised.

Lightning nodded.

"We meant to see you at lunch," she explained, implying that they were unable to since Snow had been busy serving tables at the time. "You look well, Snow," she noted, speaking sincerely. "I didn't think you'd be back to work, though. I hope you're not rushing your recovery."

"Yes," Serah seconded, frowning. "Weren't you supposed to rest for a week?"

Snow smiled, seeming touched by the concern.

"I'm taking it easy," he assured the sisters as he began to wipe the counter clean, going back to tending to the bar. "I've been working short shifts with a lot of rest in between, just enough so Maqui doesn't have to fill in for me." Then, with a chuckle, he added, "Only just got back from a break, actually."

"Are the symptoms still there?" Lightning asked, a question Serah echoed.

"Kinda," Snow somewhat confirmed, putting the cloth away and washing his hands. "Comes and goes. I was feeling pretty good when I woke up this morning and I figured I could make myself useful today. 'Sides, it meant getting out of bed. I think I overdid this bed rest thing Doc ordered, 'cause it's got me feeling really restless."

Serah giggled while Lightning fought to urge to either groan or roll her eyes at the lame remark.

"Just don't push yourself too hard, okay, Snow?" the younger Farron said.

"Promise," Snow cheerfully responded with a hearty chuckle, then chanced a wink that left Serah looking charmed and Lightning looking suspicious. "So," he started smoothly, sliding over the snack menu for the sisters to see, "what are you ladies having?"

A quick look through the list was all Lightning and Serah needed. They ordered their food and their drinks and occupied a table nearby. With a simple menu and very few customers about, Snow was back within a few minutes and serving them.

"There we go," the blond waiter announced as he placed a glass before Serah, the last item he had to transfer from the tray he was holding.

"Thank you, Snow," Serah said, smiling up at him. "Where are you off to?" she asked, as he wouldn't be attending to the juice bar if there were no customers lining up to it. "Back to the kitchen?" she guessed, and Lightning could tell her sister was hoping he would stay in some capacity.

"Might go upstairs, actually," Snow informed them, appearing rueful. "My siblings don't wanna give me any more work. Said I've helped enough for today."

"Oh," Serah murmured, seeming like she had more to say but she glanced at Lightning instead.

Lightning didn't have to see Serah's face to know the kind of look her sister was giving her.

Be nice, came the reminder in the head.

"Would you like to join us, Snow?" she offered, the neutral expression the most she could manage.

"Really?" Snow mumbled in disbelief. "Yeah!" he blurted out, then winced at his excitement. "I mean, yeah," he amended, much calmer now. "Yeah, I'd love to. Thanks," he added belatedly as he took a seat at their table.

Lightning stared at him as though he had done something strange, while Serah regarded him curiously.

"You're not going to get something to eat, Snow?" the younger Farron asked, speaking for both of them.

"Nah," he said, waving it off, "don't wanna spoil my appetite. Lebreau always cooks up a big dinner."

"It sounds like Lebreau really loves to cook," Serah remarked, nudging Lightning under the table in an obvious attempt to get her involved in the conversation. "Doesn't it, Claire?"

Lightning shot Serah a dirty look but offered no further resistance.

"Yes," she agreed with her sister, then earned another nudge when it became clear she had no intention of saying anything else. Huffing discreetly, she asked, "Is that why your family decided to go into the restaurant business, Snow?"

Snow, to his credit, pretended to be oblivious to the sisters' silent tiff and focused on the question.

"Kinda," he replied, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward. "Vanille or Fang must've told you we were orphans. They probably didn't tell you we were only really orphans on paper. The five of us used to work at a restaurant in Eden. The owner pretty much took us in, let us live in his place, even let Maqui go to school. He left the business to us when he passed away, so we took his name and kept the place alive as long as we could."

The sisters were quiet and listened attentively as he spoke, their snacks and their drinks momentarily forgotten.

"As long as you could?" Serah softly inquired, sounding somewhat emotional as she was no doubt affected by the story.

"Yeah," Snow responded in kind. "Too much competition in Eden. It was either move or go bankrupt." Then, as though realizing he was darkening the mood, he put a smile on his face and said, "I'm glad to be here, though. I always liked towns better than cities. Before Eden, we used to hop from place to place, city to city, town to town. Towns were always my favorite. Always felt right at home in them, and Bodhum? It feels like I've been here my whole life."

"I'm glad to be here, too," Serah chimed, his admirable optimism making her even more infatuated with him. "So is Claire," the younger Farron added, no less enthusiastic.

To Lightning, that simple follow up statement meant so much. It meant that Serah inviting her to see Snow wasn't just for show, wasn't just to make a statement or prove a point. Serah truly, genuinely wanted her here, wanted her to talk to Snow as well, to get to know him. Snow could have been any other boy Serah happened to fancy and it wouldn't have mattered, just that Lightning was there with her.

Snow's laugh reached her ears, drawing her attention to him.

"Can't argue with that," he quipped playfully. "Bodhum's got the best kind of beach, best kind of cafe," he stopped to puff his chest out in pride, making Serah giggle and Lightning shake her head, "and the best kind of people," he droned, edging a little closer to one Farron, who happened to be Serah.

Not comfortable with the shrinking distance between Snow and her sister, Lightning decided now was the best time to speak up and get involved in the conversation.

"You've been working in restaurants for most of your life, Snow?"

Snow - damn him - didn't look the least bit put out by this. Rather, he seemed thrilled that she was talking to him, much to Serah's ever growing admiration.

"Wish I could say that, but nah," he admitted, with a goofy grin to match. "Back in our hometown, the one where we grew up in, Gadot and I used to run around playing hero, thinking we can do better than GC or PSICOM or both put together." He laughed like someone knowing full well how foolish he had been in his youth, then continued. "We'd go beyond the borders at night and follow GC routes, looking for trouble we thought we could handle."

Lightning's lips actually quirked upwards.

"So that wasn't the first time you threw yourself into a speeding vehicle?" she teased good-naturedly.

At first, her comment had troubled Serah, who was afraid that she had crossed the line, but then Snow laughed and her sister's distress turned to delight.

"First time I get hit by a car? Yep," Snow confirmed, going into another round of chuckles. "First time I got hurt trying to help someone? Nope. Gadot and I once tried to save a girl from drowning and almost drowned ourselves."

Serah gasped, likely imagining Snow floating face down in the middle of the ocean.

"What happened?" she whispered, staring at him with wide, worried eyes.

Snow, goofy grin back in place, said, "The girl ended up saving us. An experience like that, it changed our lives, changed how we saw things. Never tried to play hero again."

"Until five days ago, that is," Lightning coolly pointed out, not quite done with the teasing.

"No regrets here," Snow chimed right back, appearing delighted that she was poking fun at him and his heroics instead of lauding him. "I'd do it again if I had to," he said softly, glancing at Serah in a way that that made Lightning pause.

Suddenly, she didn't feel like warming up to him anymore.

"I hope it doesn't happen again," Serah said with a shake of her head.

"Ah, who knows," Snow chuckled, grinning at the younger Farron. "Maybe you'll save me this time."

Lightning rolled her eyes, but for her sister's sake, she held back from snapping at him.

"Unlikely," she grunted, turning her attention to her food and drinks. "She wouldn't be able to push you off that chair, much less you push out of a car's path."

Snow feigned a hurtful expression that Serah probably found adorable.

"You saying I'm fat, Lightning?"

"Tch, your head sure is."

"Claire, you said you'd be nice!"

"Not about his head, I didn't."

"I know, but I didn't think you'd actually do it!"

* * *

"Are you sure Lightning doesn't like Fang?" Vanille was whining to Serah the next day as they idled by the lockers between classes.

"I'm sure," Serah said, frowning "You've been asking me this question the past two days. Why? Did you..." she trailed off, turning to her friend with a growing sense of dread. "You didn't say anything to Fang, did you? I called the first chance I got that night. You said I called on time."

"No," the redhead mumbled, then sighed. "I didn't say anything to Fang. She still has no idea she likes your sister, so you don't have to worry about her doing something like... how does it go in those kinds of stories? Oh, yeah! Confessing her undying love to Lightning and getting her heart broken into so many pieces that even time can't put it back together."

Serah scowled, the resemblance to her sister uncanny.

"Stop teasing me about the romance novels, will you?" she muttered to her now grinning friend, who clearly made no secret of it. "Why don't you ever pick on Hope? He's the one who actually reads them."

"Aww," the redhead cooed, "but that would be mean!"

"Making fun of me isn't mean?"

"Not unless it's true," Vanille practically sang the words. "Is it?"

"It isn't," Serah almost snapped, sounding a little defensive. Then, deciding it was best not to further indulge her friend, she said, "If you haven't told Fang anything, then why do you keep asking me about Claire?"

Vanille pouted.

"Because I keep hoping the answer will change," the redhead told her, looking at her with a wishful expression. "I thought maybe after a few days, Lightning will realize she likes Fang, after all. Or maybe she does and she's just not telling you! Maybe she doesn't know how? Lightning seems like she has trouble talking about her feelings. Fang's kind of like that, too, you know! Except with Fang, she usually just doesn't know what she's feeling, so she doesn't talk about it."

Serah laughed, always amused with the things Vanille says about Fang.

"Claire can talk to me, though," she pointed out, pleased with this, "and I don't think she's lying. It's not that she doesn't like Fang, she just doesn't think of Fang that way."

Vanille pouted even more, sullenly leaning against the lockers

"Could have fooled me," the redhead grumbled.

Serah closed her locker and cast Vanille a worried look.

"I didn't realize you were so invested in this."

"I guess I did get carried away," Vanille grudgingly admitted. "It's just... it was so nice to see Fang actually interested in someone. Ever since we were little, it was all sports and Pulse and GC stuff. You know how some people are married to their jobs? I think Fang's married to Pulse. She really loves it there."

"You don't?" Serah asked, finding it curious.

"Pulse is beautiful," Vanille said, not hesitating for a second, but there was suddenly a strange, haunted look in her eyes. "I just don't like... being down there. I always feel like something terrible is going to happen. I cried so much when our dads took us there the first time. Not even Fang could get me to stop. She never really let that go. I had to smack her a few times to get her to take that 3C job."

Serah smiled, thinking of how she had to persuade her sister to try out for the track team.

"It seems to me like Fang loves you more than she loves Pulse," she told her friend, her smile widening.

"She does, that dummy," Vanille muttered, but her tone was affectionate. "You know, she said she wouldn't take the job because she didn't want to leave me behind at Mr. Wes' farm. Didn't matter in the end. She's usually around when I'm there. I figured making her do all the work would get her to stop showing up, but she just keeps coming back! She's too hardheaded to get it."

"It might happen," Serah soothed her friend, though she couldn't completely hide her amusement. "You did convince her to take that job in Pulse."

"I did," Vanile said, then shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder if I shouldn't have. She already liked Pulse a lot before she started working there. Now, it's like she's in love with it! But then you and Lightning come back to Bodhum and it's like she woke up or something. She's still crazy about Pulse, but she's really happy you guys are back. It really hurt her when your family left Bodhum, you know."

"Claire mentioned our families lived in the same house," Serah murmured, speaking in soft, small voice.

Vanille's smile was sad but hopeful.

"Fang told me she told Lightning about that. Our faimly's still in that same house. You and Lightning should come over sometime. My dads left the bedrooms your family used the way they were, and we have lots of pictures and videos... if you want to see those."

Serah leaned against the lockers with Vanille, feeling a little overwhelmed and needing some support.

"It really sounds like our families used to be really close," she murmured, wondering what could have happened for her parents to hide all but one reminder of this friendship.

"Yeah," Vanille agreed, then slowly began to grin. "You and I were too young to really remember anything, but our sisters were pretty inseparable. At our house, there's a video of Fang sneaking into the kitchen and stealing chips. Chips, not cookies, because Fang doesn't really like sweets."

Serah giggled, imagining a child Fang stalking into a kitchen and looking very smug about it.

"Claire likes cookies," she said.

"She does!" Vanille exclaimed, surprising the younger Farron, as this was information not just anyone knew. "Fang tried to give Lightning some of the chips," the redhead explained, the laughter in her voice evident, "but Lightning didn't want any, so they both went back to the kitchen and stole the cookies your dad just baked."

The mention of her father made Serah's expression soften even more.

"Dad was there?"

"He was there the whole time, was the one who took the video, actually," Vanille said, giggling. "He just pretended not to see them. I think he felt a little guilty, too, since he used to sneak snacks to Fang before dinner and she only started stealing them after he was caught by my dad and your mom and had to stop." Then suddenly, the redhead sobered, all the humor gone, and in a sad voice, she said, "Fang cried when your family left, you know. That, I remember. It was the first time I'd seen her cry, and the last."

Serah frowned.

"Claire feels really bad she can't remember any of those things."

"It's okay, Serah," Vanille assured her. "Fang's really happy you two are back. She did sulk for a while after you told her she couldn't call Lightning Claire anymore, but I think she's happy enough she gets to call her Light. What's that about, anyway?"

"It's just something Claire started to go by after Dad passed," Serah answered, and then whispered, "a nickname he had for her." Not wanting to discuss it further, she asked, "So, you want our sisters to be together? Is that what you're hoping for?"

"I just want her to have a chance, even a little," Vanille said with all the concern and love of a sister. "Lightning's the first and only girl Fang has ever liked - and I'm sure of it, I know my sister - so, hell, yeah, I want her to have a chance!" the redhead exclaimed, punctuating it with rare use of strong language.

"I would want that, too," Serah admitted, "if Claire did like Fang. I even told Claire she had my blessing ifshe ended up liking Fang one day."

"Really? That's great because I really like Lightning for Fang!" Vanille chirped, her cheerful disposition coming back in full bloom. "It's not as obvious with Fang - noticed it just yesterday, but she's really happy around Lightning. I can't see her being like that with other girls."

"Other girls?" Serah parroted, confused.

"Other girls," Vanille confirmed in a sour tone, as though those two words alone were supposed to explain everything. Seeing that it didn't, she said, "Serah, you know the reason why most people are attracted to your sister, right? It's because she's so... unavailable and so uninterested. It's like that with Fang, too, except she doesn't scare people off like Lightning does. Not the girls, anyway."

Since Serah couldn't really argue with that, she asked, "And you don't like those girls?"

Vanille bristled, the picture of a protective, disapproving sister.

"There hasn't been a single one I liked. I don't trust any of them. They look at Fang like she's just some trophy they can win," the redhead growled, showing an aggressive side Serah had never seen before. "All they see is this pretty veloball player who's never even been kissed. If that's all they care about, then I'm not letting them near my sister."

Serah blinked. Vanille sounded just like Fang and Lightning did when the two griped about their little sisters and boys. She wondered if Vanille realized this, and then she wondered if there would come a day when she would react the same way if an unseemly person attempted to make a pass at her sister.

Just then, Fang appeared from a crowd that was just exiting a classroom, walking past them and throwing a gruff, "Hey, Van. Hey, Serah," their way before going straight to her own locker a few feet away.

Both Vanille and Serah were about to chase after Fang to ask what was wrong, but they were beaten by a girl who shoved past them and ran to the sulking jock. Serah let out a startled cry and almost bumped into a group of students. Vanille grabbed her arm and pulled her back against the lockers, all the while glaring at the girl who had pushed them.

"Hey, Fang," the girl could be heard saying, as well as Fang muttering her name in greeting. "Didn't do well on the test?"

"Got a D," Fang snarled, ripping her locker open and carelessly tossing the test disc inside. "A stupid D! Again!"

With a sympathetic frown, the girl reached for Fang's forearm, giving it a soothing stroke.

"Chemistry can be tricky to learn," she said, an obvious attempt at comforting the disgruntled brunette, "but it's not so bad with the right person. To help you with it, I mean."

"And it starts," Vanille muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Are you going to get kicked out of the team?" the girl asked, genuinely looking like she didn't want that to happen.

Fang scowled, her frustrations seeming to mount by the second.

"I will be if I don't score high enough on the next test."

The girl started to lean close, most likely - according to Vanille - about to offer all the help she could give.

"Time to save Fang," Vanille announced, tugging Serah towards the oblivious jock's locker.

"Coach is going to find out and make me miss practice for tutoring," Fang groaned as she closed her locker, calm enough not to slam it. "Ugh, what kind of veloball coach is qualified to teach every other subject in high school? Chemistry should have dancing. That's one thing Coach Hale can't do."

"It can't be that bad," the girl said, her hand still on Fang's arm.

"You have no idea," Fang mumbled, then sighed, getting aggravated again. "Coach is a bitch of a teacher, bitchier than Ms. Lawson after you say bad things about Cocoon."

"Okay, so maybe it is that bad," the girl relented, though not entirely, "but I think I can help."

"Yeah?" Fang grunted, not sold on the idea just yet. "Can you petition dancing in chemistry class so Coach Hale can't tutor me?"

The girl giggled, making Vanille twitch and jump to action, but just as the redhead was about to lunge, there was a distinct call of, "Fang?" from none other than Lightning, who appeared to have been making her way to the lockers.

Vanille immediately stopped and backed up, dragging Serah along with her and gesturing at her to keep quiet.

Fang took one look at Lightning and her face lit up instantly.

"Hey, Light," came the happy, warm greeting.

Lightning responded with a slight nod, then asked, "What's this about tutoring?"

Fang's face fell a bit, eyes dropping to the ground in embarrassment.

"Failed my last test," she mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. "Going to get kicked off the team if I fail another."

Lightning seemed to ponder for a moment, at one time glancing at the girl, who abruptly released Fang's forearm in what looked to be a knee-jerk reaction.

"Chemistry?" Lightning guessed, turning to Fang for confirmation.

Fang sighed.

"Chemistry."

Lightning held out her hand, a silent request that Fang immediately understood. Fang opened her locker again and handed her test disc over to Lightning. The blonde accessed the disc, giving it a quick look.

"You seem to be having trouble with that," Lightning remarked as she returned the disc to Fang, though not in a scathing way. "If you don't want to miss veloball practice, tell Coach Hale I'll help you study. We've already covered those topics in my class," she said, referring to her advanced classes.

"Really?" Fang breathed, looking about ready to sprint across the hallway in glee, while the girl wasn't particularly impressed. "You'd do that, Light?"

"Of course," came Lightning's simple reply. "Why wouldn't I?"

Fang made a happy sound and pulled Lightning into a hug. Lightning was surprised, and while she didn't return the affectionate gesture, she didn't try escape it or push Fang away.

"Thank you, thank you!" Fang was happily yipping.

Lightning smiled, seeming to relax.

"It's no trouble at all, Fang."

Vanille whipped around, grabbed Serah by the shoulders and shook her.

"Are you sure your sister doesn't like my sister?" the redhead howled. "Are you?"

Before Serah could answer, Ms. Lawson stepped into the hallway and strutted her way through, students respectfully clearing a path for her. Fang's eyes were automatically and blatantly glued to Ms. Lawson's backside as the history teacher was walking away.

"Are you sure Claire's the only pretty girl Fang looks at now?" Serah teased, grinning at Vanille, who released her with a huff.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Vanille drawled, humoring her. "And that wasn't a pretty face," the redhead quipped, "that was a body part. If you saw it, you'd look, too."

* * *

That weekend, on Lightning's second day of the job, she and Fang spent dinner elsewhere. They were still at the cafeteria of the GC base, but instead of being inside the building, they were on its flat roof, eating snacks as Lightning helped Fang study for an upcoming chemistry test.

"Can we stop?" Fang pleaded half an hour into it. "I don't think any of this is going to stick in my head, Light. I'm sorry. I'm trying, but I just can't focus here."

Lightning, occupying the opposite seat, switched her gaze from the notes they had been going through to Fang. She wasn't doubting her friend's willingness to study. Yesterday, during the first tutoring session, Fang was attentive and inquisitive, eager to understand each topic and never hesitated to ask questions. Tonight was different. Fang had been agreeable when she suggested it earlier, but now her friend looked frustrated, agitated.

"It's all right, Fang," she said, setting her notes aside. "Your test isn't for another five days. We don't need to rush."

"Okay," Fang mumbled, a stubborn expression on her face. "Quiz me tomorrow, yeah?" the brunette told her, speaking with such confidence it almost sounded like a challenge. "I'll be ready, Light, you'll see!"

Lightning smiled, pleased with her friend's determination.

"Tomorrow, then," she replied, confirming the agreement.

At her feet, Stupid barked for her attention, then wagged his tail and barked even louder when he got it. Lightning first noted the bowl at his side, which was filled with water, then she noticed the hungry look in his big, yellow puppy eyes.

"Hey, no begging," Fang warned with a growl, gently bumping Stupid's rump with her foot. "You already ate and you're getting fat, anyway. Damn scientists keep feeding you bacon, don't they?"

Stupid whined, head bowing and tiny ears folding back, a pitiful sight Lightning couldn't ignore.

"A treat wouldn't hurt, Fang," she reasoned, giving Stupid a piece of oretoise jerky.

Stupid perked up and plucked the strip of meat from her hand, affectionately leaning against her leg as he greedily chomped down on the jerky.

"Light!" Fang howled, aghast.

Lightning turned to her friend, amused with the look of utter betrayal on Fang's face.

"It's just one piece, Fang," she said, unable to hide the laughter in her voice.

Fang half-heartedly glared at her, then muttered, "You'd give him jerky but not me?"

"I think you've had enough," Lightning remarked, picking up the bag of jerky and showing that it was nearly empty, courtesy of Fang.

"I'm still hungry," the brunette grumbled, narrowing her eyes at the bag as though the remaining jerky had mocked her.

Laughing, Lightning wisely put the jerky away.

"You can eat all you want later at the beach," she told her friend, who still didn't take comfort in the reminder and opted to glare at the happy megistotherian puppy noisily savoring the oretoise jerky.

Lightning looked at Fang, then at Stupid, and she couldn't help but think that, between the two of them, Fang seemed more like a caged wild animal than Stupid did.

"Want to go back to work?" Fang asked when she got tired of making angry faces at Stupid, who was now rubbing against Lightning's leg in appreciation, purring loudly and obnoxiously.

"Our break won't be over for another fifteen minutes," Lightning pointed out, offering a fairly accurate guess of the free time they had left. "Is everything all right, Fang? You seem very..." she trailed off, glancing at her friend as she searched a word, "restless," she eventually said, hating how she was reminded of Snow and his lame joke that had Serah laughing.

"I'm fine, Light," Fang answered gruffly, running a hand through her hair. "Just want something to do aside from sitting here and being hungry." Then, as if remembering something, Fang looked at her and asked, "You liking it here in 3C?"

Lightning blinked, not expecting the question, but there was no hesitation with her answer.

"I am," she said.

"Yeah?" Fang drawled, grinning crookedly.

"Yeah," Lightning drawled right back, humoring her friend. "I'm thinking of taking Serah down here sometime," she said, looking at the Pulse sky and staring at Cocoon. "The seventh branch is open to the public," she recalled. "I could take her there sometime. Two weeks from now, maybe."

"She'd love it," Fang declared, ever confident and ever proud of Pulse.

Lightning looked at her friend and smiled.

"I think so, too," she murmured in agreement. "I want her to see what Dad saw whenever he was here."

Fang seemed surprised by her statement.

"Your dad never took you here? Not even to 3C-7? I thought you'd have been there before."

Lightning shook her head.

"It never came up. Dad would be away for days, sometimes weeks, and when he came back, we just wanted him to stay home," she said, remembering finding her mother looking sick and weary on late nights while her father was out. "When we lost him," she whispered, turning away from Fang, "when we didn't even get a body back, it just seemed wrong to tell Mom that we wanted to see Pulse."

"Then why'd you take a job here?" Fang blurted out, then flinched a second later. "Sorry, Light. That was rude."

Stupid, curled around Lightning's leg, barked a few times, seeming to agree. Fang glared at the megistotherian puppy and mouthed traitor to him, making Lightning laugh.

"It's all right, Fang. I'm used to it," Lightning said, smiling in amusement. "I took a job here because I wanted to see Pulse myself, maybe see what about it made my Dad love it so much."

"Oh," Fang mumbled, blinking. "What do you think of Pulse now?"

Lightning fell silent for a moment, basking in the cool, Pulsian breeze.

"I haven't really been here enough and I've barely seen anything," she started, looking at Fang.

"Big place," Fang remarked, "doubt I can say differently."

Lightning nodded.

"It may be too early to say, but I think I'm really going to like it here."

Fang beamed when she said that.

"Glad to hear it, Light," came the cheerful response. "Amodar would be, too. I think you're already his favorite. Heard him talking about how you'd make a fine soldier someday, unlike some GC general's kid. Pretty sure he was talking about me."

Lightning smirked.

"Maybe because I actually treat him like he's our boss. You should try it, Fang."

Fang scoffed, then took notice when Stupid stretched and yawned.

"Looks like Amodar isn't the only one you've won over," the brunette remarked, nudging Stupid's rump with her boot.

"I think it's the other way around with him, Fang," Lightning pointed out, glancing at the cute, confuse puppy blinking up at her.

"Yeah," Fang conceded without a fight, giving Stupid a dirty look. "Little bastard."

* * *

By the time Fang and Lightning returned to Cocoon and arrived at NORA, the group was already at the beach and had set up a fire not far from the cafe. Fang parked her velocycle at NORA and they joined the others, greeted by Serah, Vanille and Lebreau, the latter two already clad in swimsuits. Gadot appeared to have bullied Maqui and Hope into the water, while Snow was nowhere to be seen.

"I told them you'd be really hungry when you got here, so we started early to get ahead on cooking!" Vanille said to Fang, offering up a plate of steak the brunette eagerly took.

Fang uttered a hasty thanks to Vanille, an even quicker hello to Serah and Lebreau, and then plopped next to the fire and took a bite, letting out a delighted groan that sounded almost obscene.

"Don't mind her," Vanille advised, going off to fetch Fang a drink. "She's like that when she misses a meal. She's always had a big appetite, and lately it's been really big. It's a good thing she's so active!"

"Shut up, Van!" Fang snapped, then soon decided the food was more worthy of her attention than the laughs and giggles Vanille received at her expense.

"She'll stop being grumpy when she's full," Vanille said, skipping towards Fang and handing her sister a drink.

Serah watched the Raines sisters for a moment, looking very amused, then turned to Lightning with a smile.

"Hi, Claire," the younger Farron greeted, stepping forward for a hug. "I hope you're not too tired from work. I'm determined to drag you for a swim at least once."

"You're all insane," Lightning muttered, though she did hug her sister back. "The water must be freezing."

"It is," Lebreau chimed from the grill. "That's the fun of it, though! Just don't stay in there too long and you should be fine," the young woman told them, speaking in a motherly tone. "We have blankets and a fire for warmth. You're also free to use the hot showers at our place. We don't want you kids catching a cold, or worse."

As Lebreau faced the grill again, Lightning noticed a peculiar tattoo on the pale woman's right shoulder blade. It was a simple design in black ink, and Lightning's first thought upon seeing it was how similar it looked to the head of a hooded snake that was poised to strike. What bothered her the most was the feeling that she had seen a tattoo like Lebreau's before, she just couldn't remember when or who.

"Come on, Claire," Serah urged, taking her hand and tugging her towards the cafe. "Let's change into our swimsuits. We can change at NORA."

Distracted, Lightning nodded and followed Serah's lead.

"Where's Snow?" she asked on the way to the cafe.

"Yuj is with him at their house," Serah said. "He isn't feeling well."

"That's too bad," Lightning murmured, then, with every ounce of will and love for her sister, she said, "It would have been... nice to have him around."

Serah giggled, likely from the funny look on her face.

"You don't mean that, Claire," her sister cooed, then gave her a kiss on the cheek, "but thank you for trying."

* * *

When Lightning and Serah returned to the beach, the group, now including Hope, Maqui and Gadot, was gathered around the fire. Gadot was standing in front of the fire, doing a series of ridiculous, exaggerated poses as he told some wild tale that was probably only half true. Lebreau was still at the grill, Maqui was serving up the food and lastly, Fang was sitting between Hope and Vanille, sneaking glares at the nervous blond boy while she ate.

Hope noticed them first, practically leaping to his feet and running towards them.

"I really need to talk to him about Vanille," Lightning heard Serah say as Hope approached, followed by a look that promised it would be explained later.

"Hey, guys," Hope greeted them, seeming happy to be talking to girls who didn't make him blush or fear for his life. "Light, I got Lebreau to save some of that pasta dish you really like. Just ask her for it when you want it."

Lightning smiled, making her brother puff with pride.

"Thanks, Hope."

"No problem, Light!"

"Did you enjoy your swim, Hope?" Serah asked as the three of them headed for the rest of the group.

Hope chuckled.

"It wasn't really my choice," he said, hinting that Gadot probably did bully him and Maqui into it, "but it was fun. The water's really cold, though. It was kind of a shock at first."

"- and then she slapped us! Right in the kisser, both of us!" Gadot could be heard saying as they neared the group, "and she said, 'You idiots! That wasn't a burglar, that was my husband!'"

"Did you and Snow do anything right when you were off trying to be heroes?" Fang drawled, clearly more impressed with the food on her plate than Gadot's story.

"Sure did!" Gadot boasted, putting his hands on his hips and grinning smugly. "I'm just warmin' ya up, makin' sure I got your full, undivided attention. You're gonna be really impressed with this next one!"

Fang snorted and looked ready to say something sarcastic, but when she saw the Farrons and Hope approaching, she went deathly still and stared at Lightning like she had been struck by the blonde teen's namesake.

"I think Fang likes your bikini," Serah whispered to Lightning, giving her sister a playful nudge.

Lightning rolled her eyes.

"Serah..."

"I know, I know, Claire," her sister assured her, patting her arm in both apology and comfort. "I didn't mean anything by it. I was just teasing you. Besides, Fang's being really cute right now. It's like she just realized she finds you pretty. Red always did look good on you."

"You can stop now, Serah," Lightning hissed as they neared the group, her eyes drawn to Fang, who was still very much staring at her.

"Serah! Lightning!" Gadot boomed, a huge grin on his face. "Perfect timing, girls! I was just about to tell everyone about the time Snow and I tried to save this girl from drowning."

Lebreau walked by with drinks in hand, quipping, "Only my brother would enjoy revealing self-deprecating moments of his life."

Gadot laughed.

"If you can't laugh at yourself, Sis, there's somethin' wrong with ya!"

"Just don't overdo it," Lebreau said, handing Vanille the drinks and heading back to the grill.

Vanille took the drinks and decided to take Fang's plate as well, since it seemed like her sister was about to drop it. Fang blinked at her empty hands, then slowly looked back up at Lightning, eyes momentarily fixating on the blonde's navel piercing before focusing on her face.

"Light," Fang squeaked. "Uh," came that rare stutter as those green eyes dropped again, followed by a mumble of, "You never told me you had a piercing."

"It didn't seem like something worth mentioning," Lightning evenly responded, sitting next to the brunette and tugging Serah to sit next to her. "You haven't changed yet. No plans to swim?"

"Maybe later," Fang absently said, gaze slowly switching back to her face. "Eating first. How about you?"

Hope, who had yet to take a seat, announced, "I'll go get your dinner, Light," and jogged over to Lebreau before Lightning could say a word.

"Aww," Vanille cooed, watching Hope, "he's so sweet."

That seemed to snap Fang out of the daze she had been in since seeing Lightning in a two-piece swimsuit.

"He's a few other things, too," Fang muttered, scoffing.

Vanille gave Fang a reprimanding smack on the arm.

"Damn it, Van!"

"I'm going to sit with Serah," Vanille said, giving Fang her plate back and leaving two drinks for the two sixteen year olds.

As Vanille sat next to Serah, Hope came back with a plate of pasta, offering it to Lightning with a self-satisfied smile. Lightning thanked her brother again, and then Maqui walked up to them, giving Serah and Vanille their own plates.

"Thanks, Maqui," Serah said, "but I could have gotten it myself."

"Yeah," Vanille agreed, grabbing Maqui by his shorts and pulling him down to sit beside her. "You're not a waiter right now, you know."

Maqui laughed shyly.

"I'm sorry. It's kind of a habit."

"A bad habit around friends," Vanille chimed, and Serah nodded in agreement.

"I'll work on it," Maqui promised, smiling.

"I'm glad," Serah told him, then gave him a curious look. "Aren't you going to eat, Maqui? You didn't have a bite the whole afternoon we worked on our project."

"I will soon. Lebreau's cooking our food now," Maqui explained.

Lightning turned to Hope and said, "You should sit down, Hope."

"Okay, Light," Hope replied, and between sitting next to Fang and sitting next to Maqui, he didn't hesitate to join his fellow freshmen.

"Everyone's here!" Gadot cheered, pumping his fist in the air and making all eyes turn to him. "Know what that means, right? Right?" he asked excitedly, receiving a mix of amused and unimpressed looks in return. "That means I'm gonna tell my story and all of you are gonna love it! C'mon, you can eat while I talk! It'll be like a movie, only better!"

Fang again looked like she was about to say something rude and funny, but someone spoke before she did.

"I dunno, Bro," came a familiar but unexpected voice, "I don't think everyone's here."

Everyone followed the voice and found Snow strutting over to them, Yuj not far behind him.

"Snow!" Serah gasped. "I thought you weren't feeling well."

Snow chuckled.

"I feel a whole lot better now, and I didn't want Yuj missing out on all the fun because of me, so here we are!"

Lightning had expected Serah's reaction, but she was surprised to see the very unhappy expressions on each Villier's face. Gadot's grin had been completely wiped from his face, Maqui looked uneasy and Lebreau was shaking her head. But all three seemed to simultaneously recover and managed to look convincingly pleased to see their brother.

"Hey, Bro!" Gadot shouted, slinging an arm around Snow's shoulders. "Perfect timing! I was just gonna tell everyone about the lady in the water."

"Ohh, that," Snow droned, grinning knowingly.

"Yep," Gadot said with a nod. "Wanna help me out here?"

Snow laughed.

"Nah, man, it's all yours. I'm just gonna sit back and enjoy."

While the brothers were talking to each other, Lightning noticed the tattoo on Gadot's right shoulder, then the tattoo on Snow's left forearm. Both young men had tattoos just like Lebreau's. Lightning wondered if Maqui and Yuj also had it.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Snow plopped down next to Fang.

"Hey, Lightning, Fang."

Lightning nodded at the greeting.

"Snow," she said, counting on Fang for a friendlier reception.

Instead, Fang sneered at Snow like he got sand on her food.

"Hey," came the gruff, irritated response Lightning was surprised to hear.

She looked at her friend, noted the tense jaw and the narrowed, angry green eyes. It was hard to believe that this was the same girl who had looked so dazed and smitten with her just moments ago.

Gadot began to tell his story, and as he went on, Fang temper continued to rise. It was subtle, but Lightning saw it whenever Fang's upper lip curled back, whenever Fang's jaw twitched and she was sure she could hear teeth grinding. Snow hadn't noticed any of this, too busy stealing glances at Serah, who was doing the same.

"Remember that part, Fang?" Snow asked, elbowing the brunette.

Fang recoiled at the touch and scooted closer to Lightning. When Fang's bare forearm pressed against her own bare arm, Lightning almost jumped. Fang's skin felt hot, almost feverish.

"Fang, are you all right?" she whispered as she touched her friend's arm, taken aback by the tensed muscles she felt.

Fang turned to her sharply, green eyes looking wild and feral, alight with that anger she had seen just twice before.

"No, Bro!" Snow howled at Gadot, laughing boisterously. "You were the one she had to pull out of the water by the hair, not me! You sink faster than rock, that's why!"

Fang twitched, and before Lightning realized she was no longer holding Fang's arm, Snow had crashed on the sand, floored by a vicious punch.

"Don't you ever stop talking!" Fang snarled, lunging at Snow and throwing one punch after another.

"Fang!" Vanille cried, rushing over to her sister. "Stop it, Fang! What are you doing?"

Lightning stood up and caught the redhead, dragging her back to Serah and Hope, who followed her lead and stayed close to Serah. The other Villiers came running, trying to pull Fang off Snow. It was shocking how none of them could do it, even more shocking that they couldn't even stop Fang from hitting Snow again and again.

"Fang," Snow said, raising his arms to protect himself and wincing when it looked like the next blow cracked bone. "Fang, calm down! I'm sorry, all right? Just calm down! You need to calm down."

"Shut up!" Fang roared, teeth bared like a wild animal. "Shut up! Stop talking! Stop fucking talking!"

"Bro, you better do as she asks," Gadot grunted, and then, with a burst of strength, he was able to tear Fang away from Snow.

Lebreau and Maqui quickly saw to Snow as Gadot dragged Fang further and further away from him. Yuj followed after them, trying calm Fang down, but it only seemed to anger her even more. She took a swing at him and elbowed Gadot in the gut, but Gadot kept his arms secured around her waist.

Vanille wriggled free of Lightning's grip and ran to Fang, grabbing her sister wrists and whispering, begging for Fang to stop until she was crying. At the redhead's first sob, Fang slowly went limp in Gadot's arms, allowing him to finally let her go.

Lightning watched as Fang shakily drew Vanille into a hug, but all she could really see were Fang's eyes, Fang's wide, frightened eyes.


	8. Chapter 08: The Villiers and Their Kind

**Apply Standard Disclaimers Here**

**.**

**The Twilight Zone  
****Chapter 08: The Villiers and Their Kind  
****By: E.G. Szyslak** [07/08-19/12]

**.**

Lightning checked her phone, frowning when she saw that Fang hadn't returned her call and two messages. She wondered if she should try again. She sent a message to Fang last night, just before she went to bed. When she woke up this morning at 5 AM, she called Fang, a routine for them of late, but all she got was her friend's voicemail, where she left her second message.

She stared at her phone, considering calling Vanille or the Raines household.

No, she quickly told herself. Stop overreacting. Stop worrying.

But she couldn't help it, not after what happened. She couldn't get the look in Fang's eyes out of her mind. After being placated by Vanille, Fang had gone quiet, dazed and unresponsive. When Cid and Rygdea arrived to take their daughters home, Rygdea had to carry Fang to the car.

Thinking back, Lightning had a feeling no one could have explained Fang's actions, least of all Fang. But when the Raineses showed up, when Cid and Lebreau had a brief but telling exchange, when Rygdea saw Snow and looked like he wanted to finish what Fang had started, she couldn't help but feel like there was more going on than the Villiers and the Raines fathers let on.

"Claire?" Serah called softly upon entering their room. "Lunch is almost ready."

Lightning glanced at her sister.

"All right."

Serah crossed over to her bed and sat next to her.

"Have you heard anything from Fang?"

Lightning looked at her phone again.

"I haven't," she said.

"Vanille isn't answering my calls or messages, either," Serah told her, looking worried. "I even tried calling their house, but no one picked up. I..." her sister trailed off, hesitating for a moment. "I still can't believe Fang did that, that she could do something like that. She plays rough and she can be a little rude sometimes, but I never thought she could be so violent, so angry. I don't know what Snow could have said or done to provoke that."

"I don't know, either," Lightning said, though, thinking back on the glimpses of anger she had seen on Fang, she wasn't sure she could completely agree with her sister. "How's Snow?" she asked, feeling a little guilty that she hadn't been concerned about him.

"He's okay," Serah replied, looking relieved. "I was on a video call with him a while ago. He's all bruised up, has a black eye and a split lip, but it's nothing serious, thankfully."

Lightning's brows furrowed. She was surprised Snow didn't have worse injuries, but she supposed if he came out of a hit and run with just a mild concussion, he'd fare better against Fang. It wasn't like Fang could hit harder than a speeding car.

"That's good," she said about Snow. "I'll leave Fang another message, tell her Snow's fine. She'd like to know that," she stopped then, instantly doubting her own words. "Unless you've told Vanille already, and it's likely their fathers have already contacted the Villiers by now."

Serah touched her hand, and only then did she realize she was rambling.

"I think you should still tell her, Claire," her sister told her with a smile. "I'm sure it would mean a lot to her. You should also tell her that Snow isn't upset with her. He said he knows that, sometimes, people just want to punch him in the face. He's so silly."

"He's not wrong about the punching, either," Lightning muttered, unable to stop herself.

Serah shot her a peeved look.

"Well," her sister huffed. "I think it's sweet he's so willing to forgive Fang. I don't know what I would have done in his place," came the quiet admission. "Fang scared me. I know she isn't a bad person, but she really scared me."

Lightning frowned, wishing Serah didn't feel that way about Fang.

"I don't think she was feeling well," she said, hoping to make some sense of things, for both their sakes. "She seemed frustrated at work, and when I touched her arm before she lunged at Snow, she felt feverish."

"Being hungry must have made it worse, made her more irritable," Serah murmured, shaking her head. "I never thought Fang would have a temper like that."

"It doesn't excuse what she did," Lightning stated, "but it might explain why."

But that didn't explain why Snow made Fang so angry, not Hope or Gadot, but Snow. It didn't explain why Snow was so quick, so eager to make peace Fang, almost as if out of guilt than compassion.

"Girls?" they heard Nora calling, footsteps drawing close to their room.

The sisters forced smiles when Nora came into view. There had been an unspoken understanding with Hope that it was better to keep from Sazh and Nora the incident at the beach.

"It's time for lunch," Nora said, regarding them with a motherly expression.

Acknowledging their adoptive mother's words, Lightning and Serah stood and followed Nora to dining room, where the rest of the family was waiting for them. On the way there, Lightning left Fang another message.

* * *

At school the next day, they found Vanille walking in the halls alone, looking small and lost in the crowd of students.

"Vanille!" Serah shouted amid the loud chatter surrounding them. "Van, wait up," the younger Farron called again, racing ahead towards the redhead.

Vanille stopped and turned just as Serah caught up to her, Lightning and Hope not far behind. Immediately, Vanille's expression brightened upon seeing them, but still nothing like her chipper self. Though happy to see them, the redhead also seemed troubled and looked like she hadn't slept well the night before.

"Hey, guys," she greeted them with a little smile, quickly turning to Serah. "Sorry I didn't call you back, Serah. Fang's sick," the redhead said, voice cracking with worry. "She has a fever, and it was really bad yesterday, gave us a real scare. I didn't want to be away from her for a second."

"How is she now?" Hope was the first to ask, actually beating the Farron sisters to it.

"Was she taken to the hospital?" Lightning further inquired, already planning to visit if so.

Vanille shook her head.

"The fever's gone down a bit since. Dad says she can rest up at home."

"She seemed fine before she..." Hope trailed off, struggling to phrase it, "before what happened that night," he awkwardly supplied.

Vanille gave Hope such a sharp, scathing look for it that he actually backed up a few steps.

"Fang hasn't been feeling well for weeks now," the redhead practically growled, but then stopped, eyes widening when she realized she had snapped at him. "I... I'm sorry, Hope," she stuttered, looking away, clearly ashamed of herself. "I didn't mean to talk to you that way."

Hope, taken aback by the mood swing, took a moment to respond.

"It's okay, Vanille," he assured her once he recovered. "I could have said better it, too."

Serah put an arm around Vanille's shoulders, a gesture the redhead welcomed. The group took that opportunity to steer clear of the middle of the hallway.

"What did you mean about about Fang?" Serah asked gently. "Has she been sick the whole time?"

"It's not that," Vanille said, stealing a glance at Lightning, something the elder Farron didn't miss. "Fang's been getting these headaches for the past weeks. She told me she only gets them in the morning and they go away, but I noticed she's been losing a lot of sleep over it. Then there's veloball practice, work, and that test she's been worrying about..." the redhead stopped to sigh and shake her head. "It all just piled up and I should have known better. Instead, I made her skip dinner."

As Serah and Hope hushed and comforted Vanille, Lightning could only stare blankly, her mind racing. Fang was having headaches in the morning, like her, woke up early, like her. Did Fang have strange dreams, too, she wondered.

Had she not been so distracted, she would have noticed Vanille watching her.

"Has Fang... always had a temper?" she heard Serah cautiously ask Vanille, her sister's voice pulling her back into the conversation.

"Yeah," Vanille breathed, smiling sadly. "She's always been hotheaded, especially when we were kids. I don't remember much, I was too young then, but my dads said Fang used to lash out at everyone, even at them. It took her awhile to warm up to the family."

Lightning thought of the dream she had of the beach, the one where she was asking her mother about Fang. Images flashed in her mind, from her mother's smiling face to a child Fang sitting alone, brooding, as other children warily looked on from a distance. In that dream, she had approached Fang, just as she said she would.

"She seems a lot more relaxed now," Hope remarked, "not counting the weekend."

Vanille nodded, glancing meaningfully at Lightning, who caught the look this time.

"Van," Serah began, "do you have any idea why Fang reacted that way to Snow?"

Vanille's mumbled answer could barely be heard over the blare of the speakers, alerting students that first period was about to begin.

"No," Vanille had said, "but I think it would have been better if he had just stayed in bed like he was supposed to."

* * *

"How'd your presentation go in history class?" Hope asked Serah as the pair exited a room together, on the way to meeting up with Lightning and hopefully Vanille for lunch at NORA.

"It went great," Serah replied. "I'm glad Maqui and I risked taking a more neutral stand on Cocoon," she said, speaking of a late decision she and Maqui made that weekend when they were putting the finishing touches on their project.

"Really?" Hope mumbled, surprised. "How'd Ms. Lawson take it?"

"Very well, actually," Serah said, sounding surprised herself. "Maqui was right. It looks like Ms. Lawson's really lightened up since she started seeing Coach Hale."

"That's good to know," Hope remarked, looking relieved, "makes me feel better about my presentation with Vanille later. I'm still a little worried that we'd look too pro-Pulse," he admitted, referring to his own project with Vanille, which attempted to view the war through Pulse's perspective, "but maybe Ms. Lawson won't take it so badly."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Serah assured her brother. "I'm proud of you for being open-minded with the project, Hope," she told him, smiling, "and you didn't do it just to impress Vanille."

"I did, at first," he said, then sighed. "And I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't have been nice if it made her like me more, but I'm glad I stuck with it."

Serah regarded Hope sympathetically, knowing her brother must still be feeling foolish for confusing Vanille's friendly affections as romantic, news she had broken to him just yesterday. Her timing had been ill, telling him the wake of the incident at the beach, when he was extremely worried about Vanille, but she felt it couldn't wait anymore.

"It couldn't have been easy for you to question your views on Pulse, especially when it's the kind of thing most parents tell their kids," she said, deciding a chance of topic would be best. "I can't really relate to it. I'll never understand why Cocoon has so much fear and hate towards Pulse, even when all the Pulsians are gone."

"It is pretty strange when you think about it," Hope said, "and, after reading those books the Villiers had, it kind of makes me wonder what the war was really about."

"It's too bad we'll never know," Serah murmured.

"Yeah," Hope agreed softly. "Five hundred years too late for that."

* * *

Elsewhere in the school, Lightning was waiting on Vanille, something she and Fang did when their classes finished before the redhead's. It didn't take long for the door to slide open, students filing out of the room. Vanille, one of the last to leave, smiled upon seeing her.

"Hi, Lightning," the redhead greeted, cheerful but not up to par with her usual enthusiasm.

Lightning offered a little smile of her own. Vanille reminded her so much of Serah that it felt like the natural thing to do. Especially now, with Vanille looking so lost and lonely without Fang, Lightning felt rather protective over the girl. Right then and there, she vowed to watch over Vanille in Fang's stead.

"Hey, Vanille," she greeted back warmly.

"I hope you weren't waiting long," Vanille said, approaching her. "Oh," the redhead suddenly squeaked, "I forgot to tell you something this morning. Fang left her phone at work, so if you want to get in touch with her, do it through my phone."

Lightning blinked.

"She left her phone at work," she repeated, feeling relieved and confused, relieved to know that there was a reason why Fang hadn't returned her calls and messages, but confused because Fang's phone so very rarely left her pocket at work that it was unusual to think she had misplaced it.

"Amodar's holding on to it," Vanille told her. "Fang will get it back the next time she goes to work."

"Will that be this weekend?" Lightning asked.

Vanille shook her head.

"I don't think so. My dads would want her to rest."

"I'll get it for her," Lightning offered.

"Really?" Vanille breathed, then, in an uncharacteristic move, she hugged Lightning timidly, when she normally would have squealed and launched herself at the blonde. "Thank you," she whispered. "That would mean a lot to Fang."

Returning the cautious gesture, Lightning murmured, "It's no trouble, Vanille,"

Vanille pulled away, smiling tentatively.

"Do you want to eat at NORA?" Lightning asked. "We should hurry if you do," she pointed out, since without Fang to drive them to the cafe, they would need to beat the others students to a taxi.

Vanille's face fell at the mention of NORA.

"You guys go ahead," the redhead mumbled. "I think I'll just eat at the cafeteria today. The flan's pretty good there, too!"

"You're not coming with us, Van?" Serah asked as she and Hope emerged from the crowd, having been close enough to overhear them. "Are you worried about what happened? You shouldn't be. Snow's okay, he's not hurt bad and he's not mad. You and Fang are still welcome at NORA."

"I know," Vanille said, attempting a smile, "my dads have spoken to the Villiers for Fang. My family is okay with with Snow's, I'd just prefer to eat at school today."

"Then let's head to the cafeteria," Lightning decided, Hope immediately agreeing.

"Yeah," the blond seconded. "Let's go before the good food is gone."

Smiling at Lightning and Hope, Serah linked arms with Vanille and pulled the redhead along.

"Let's," she chimed.

"You guys, it's okay," Vanille argued weakly. "You don't have to do this."

"You're not going to eat alone, Van," Serah declared, waving off any other protest.

"Yeah," Hope chuckled, "what kind of friends would we be if we just left you here?"

At that, Vanille smiled, the kind of smile that made her look much like herself. Lightning was happy to see it.

"You guys talk like I don't have other friends," the redhead quipped.

Serah feigned shock.

"Other friends? Van, you're cheating on us! How could you?"

Vanille giggled, then continued to joke along with Serah and Hope on the way to the cafeteria.

* * *

Two days passed, two days of sending clipped, clinical text messages to Vanille's phone and receiving updates on Fang's condition, most from Vanille and the rest from Fang, supposedly.

Lightning was uncomfortable with the arrangement, felt uneasy seeing Fang's words tagged with Vanille's name. She didn't like the idea that a third party, be it Vanille or someone else, had access to their conversations.

But when her phone rang at 5:20 AM, it meant one of two things. It was an emergency, or it was Fang. She quickly answered the call, hoping her first guess was wrong.

"Hello?"

"_Light,"_ came the happy slur on the other line, from a voice that was undeniably Fang. _"Hi, Light."_

"Fang," Lightning whispered, suddenly feeling winded with relief and happiness. "What are you doing up so early?" she asked, adding, "Shouldn't you be resting?"

"_I was. Resting, sleeping,"_ Fang mumbled, sounding groggy and unfocused. _"Woke up. Had a dream. Dad... Dad gave me something to help me sleep again. Going to... gonna sleep again real soon. Stole Van's phone, not supposed to have it right now. I wanted to talk to you, Light. I miss you."_

"I've missed you, too, Fang," Lightning was saying before she realized it, surprised only by the bluntness of her admission.

"_Vanille says,"_ Fang paused, deep breathing filling the silence. _"Vanille says you've been worried about me."_

"I have been, yes," Lightning had no trouble saying.

"_I'm sorry. It's Snow's fault."_

Lightning's brows furrowed.

"Snow's fault?"

"_Yeah,"_ Fang slurred. _"He made me angry."_

"What did he do?" Lightning asked, wondering if her friend meant anything by it.

"_He made me angry,"_ Fang repeated, again with a slur. _"He... has a stupid head."_

Lightning smiled wryly.

"He does," she agreed.

"_And he smells bad."_

Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"Are you feeling any better, Fang?" she asked, deciding it was better to stop talking about Snow.

"_Little. Fever's still bad. Feels like I'm on fire, Light."_

Lightning frowned, hearing the pain in her friend's voice.

"Can I see you later today? I've been wanting to visit."

"_No!"_ Fang rasped, the abrupt, panicked response startling. _"You can't. It's bad. It's bad for you. You can only see me when I'm better. More than a little better."_

"Okay," Lightning responded agreeably, hoping Fang would calm down. "Okay," she repeated, much softer. "I'll wait until then," she promised.

There was no response for a moment, only Fang's slowing, calming breathing.

"_Okay,"_ Fang mumbled, sounding even more lethergic now. _"Good. Good."_

"Do you have any idea when you'll come back to school?" Lightning asked after a moment. "You'll miss your chemistry test tomorrow and exams are next week. That's a lot of catching up and studying to do."

A pained groan sounded from the other line, and Lightning suspected it had nothing to do with the fever.

"_Will you..." _Fang trailed off, halted by shame and the wounded pride. _"Will you help me, Light?"_

"I'll help you, Fang," Lightning promised, expression softening.

"_Okay. Okay,"_ Fang breathed, voice getting weaker. _"Thank you."_

Lightning knew the call would end soon. Fang was barely awake.

"I hope you get well soon, Fang," she said quietly but clearly.

"_Me, too. I want to... I want to see you, Light. I miss you. And Serah. And veloball. I miss veloball. Not Coach Hale, just veloball. I miss you most, though."_

Lightning laughed softly.

"I think it's time for you to sleep."

"_It's not- I don't wanna,"_ Fang whimpered, _"I don't wanna have another dream. It makes my head hurt so much."_

The humor Lightning felt was gone in a breath. There it was, what she had been wondering about. Fang had dreams and headaches, like her.

"What..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say or how to say it. "What kinds of dreams do you have, Fang?"

"_Bad... bad dreams,"_ Fang struggled to say, on the verge of falling asleep. _"Bad people scaring Vanille, making her cry. My mother. My mother, Light. She looks so sad when she looks at me."_

"Fang," Lightning started, suddenly regretting she had asked at all, feeling like she wasn't meant to hear any of this, that she was taking advantage of Fang's vulnerability.

The next thing Fang said would haunt Lightning since.

"_I killed her. My hands were bloody,"_ was the hollow whisper. _"I killed my mother."_

* * *

Two days later, Serah and Hope showed up at NORA after school. Being the end of the school week, there were noticeably more customers than the cafe's usual afternoon numbers. Gadot and Snow were serving tables outside, while inside, Yuj was there, seeing to them as entered.

"Serah, Hope," he greeted them pleasantly. "Just the two of you again today?" he asked, as this was the third time in three days the pair had gone to NORA after school.

"Just us," Hope confirmed. "Light and Vanille have practice."

"Ah, yes," Yuj droned, nodding. "I hope they're both doing well. How is Fang? Is she back at school?"

Serah shook her head.

"Fang is still sick."

Yuj frowned.

"I see. I wish her the best," he said earnestly. "We miss seeing you all at lunch."

"Maybe when Fang gets better," Hope started, "everything will go back to normal."

"It's nice to hope, isn't it?" Yuj remarked, chuckling.

Hope narrowed his eyes at the waiter.

"Was that a pun?"

"Of course not," Yuj responded with a straight face, making Serah giggle. "Now, I take it you two would prefer a table outside? Come on, then," he urged without missing a beat, stepping outside and heading for an empty table.

The pair followed without question, though Hope sulked a bit. Soon, they were seated and Yuj was walking away from their table with their order. Hope, noticing they were alone, wasted no time in starting a personal conversation with his sister.

"I've been thinking about what you told me," he said, then, at her confused look, he clarified, "about Vanille."

"You have?" Serah prompted.

Hope took a deep breath, looking like he was trying to steel his nerves.

"I want to talk to her," he declared, "and ask her how she feels about me."

Serah looked at her brother, taken aback.

"Are you sure?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he responded shakily, chuckling. "I know you've already told me that it doesn't seem like she likes me that way, but I think I need it hear it from her."

Serah nodded, understanding.

"When are you going to talk to her?"

"Oh, um, I'm not sure," he mumbled sheepishly. "When Fang's better, definitely, some time after that. Vanille's been worried and vulnerable. I don't want to take advantage of that."

Serah smiled, proud of her brother.

"I always knew you'd grow up to be a gentleman."

Hope laughed, trying to hide the fact that the compliment made him blush.

"Hey, you two," Snow greeted cheerfully, walking up to their table and serving them the food and drinks they ordered. "How's it going?" the waiter conversationally asked, looking like he had a few minutes to idle.

"Hey, Snow," Hope greeted back, having already composed himself.

"We're well," Serah said, answering the blond waiter's question. "How about you, Snow? How are your bruises?" she asked, gaze immediately drawn to the eyepatch he's had to wear to cover up his black eye.

"Getting better," Snow drawled, winking - or blinking - with his good eye, something Hope didn't approve of. "Most of them should be gone by tomorrow," he said, gesturing at his otherwise flawless-looking face, the make up barely noticeable. "I'm gonna need to wear the eyepatch for a few more days, but the eyepatch, I like. The make up, not so much."

"Don't worry, Snow, it isn't obvious," Serah assured him, a shockingly tame reaction that clearly puzzled Hope, who looked like he was expecting his sister to flirt with Snow.

"All thanks to Lebreau and Yuj," Snow said, laughing. "I'd look like a clown if I tried to do it myself. Anyway," he added, stepping away from the table, "I'm gonna let you guys eat. Call if you need anything."

Once Snow was out of earshot, Hope stared at Serah, who had absently begun to eat.

"Are you okay, Serah?" he asked.

"Hm?" Serah hummed, looking up.

"Snow's been trying to get you to notice his eyepatch for the past two days, three if you include now," Hope said, discreetly gesturing at Snow, who was a few tables away, "but you don't even look at him twice. All you've told him is that it's okay, no one's going to notice he's wearing make up."

Serah gave Hope a strange look.

"What was I supposed to say?"

Hope huffed, exasperated.

"I don't know!" he hissed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Something about how cute he looks with it or something. 'Oh, Snow,'" he cooed in a high, shrill pitch, an unflattering attempt at imitating his sister's voice, "'that eyepatch matches your bandana so well! You look like such a dashing, handsome rogue!'"

Serah balked, horrified at the sight of her brother batting his eyelashes and pursing his lips. Then she scowled, realizing he was making fun of her.

"I take back what I said about you being a gentleman," she muttered darkly.

Hope chuckled.

"Come on, it was a kind of funny."

Serah huffed.

"I don't sound like that when I talk about Snow."

"You do, a little," Hope teased.

Serah held her chin up, but not for long.

"Maybe a little," she relented, showing the smile he had been working to get. "I'm sorry, Hope," she murmured, "I'm a little distracted."

"You have been for a few days," he noted, frowning. "What's wrong, Serah?"

Serah looked at her brother's worried face, then sighed.

"It's Claire," she whispered, looking down. "I'm worried about her. Fang being sick, it's really bothering her, I know it is, but she's not telling me anything."

"Maybe that's just how she wants to deal with it," Hope said carefully, "and I'm not sure what else she can say other than she's worried about Fang."

"It just..." Serah paused, shaking her head. "It just feels like there's something she's not telling me."

"Hm," Hope droned, mulling it over. "Maybe she could use a distraction," he suggested offhandedly. "She probably feels pretty helpless, and it doesn't help that we can't even visit Fang. The whole thing sounds really frustrating. It'd do her some good if you could think of something that would keep her mind off it, even for just a little while."

"Well, next week is our mother's death anniversary," Serah murmured almost automatically, saying the first thing that came to mind. "We're going to Palumpolum and bring water-willows to our parents-" she suddenly stopped, eyes growing wide.

"Serah?" Hope called in concern.

Serah stood up and hugged him, putting his worries to rest.

"Thank you, Hope," she said with a smile. "I think I know just the thing."

* * *

Lightning stepped out of the bathroom, enjoying the feel of clean, comfortable sleepwear on her freshly bathed body and feeling the lingering stress from work fade away. Adjusting the towel on her shoulders, she noticed Serah sitting on her bed, seeming to be waiting for her.

"Hey, Claire," Serah greeted warmly with a smile to match, "how was work? Was Fang there?"

Lightning shook her head.

"No," she replied, sitting beside Serah, "but work went well. I did have to keep a close eye on Stupid, though. He kept trying to run off, almost got into the triffid field again."

"Again?" Serah echoed, giggling, always amused to hear about Stupid. "I'm starting to understand how he got his name."

Lightning smiled a little.

"I think he was looking for Fang," she said in defense of Stupid. "He probably thought she was somewhere in the base."

"Aww," Serah cooed, "he misses Fang. He must be used to seeing her every week."

"He is," Lightning confirmed. "Today was the first time Fang missed work. Amodar looked really surprised when one of her fathers called in sick for her."

"She does seem to love it there," Serah remarked, expression turning thoughtful.

Lightning nodded.

"Did you want to tell me something, Serah?" she asked, seeing the look on her sister's face.

Serah looked at her with the determination of a little sister intent on getting what she wanted. Lightning wondered if she should save them both the trouble and just blindly agree to whatever terms Serah was about to lay out.

"I want us to go to Lake Bresha tomorrow," Serah stated simply.

Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"Lake Bresha? What for?"

Serah's expression softened.

"Water-willows grow in the ponds not far from there," her sister whispered. "I thought it would be nice if we picked them ourselves. Dad took home water-willows from Pulse sometimes, remember?"

"I remember," Lightning said, smiling at the memory.

"We're leaving after lunch," Serah announced, pleased with herself. "I already got us train tickets."

Lightning looked pensive.

"Just us?"

Serah smiled.

"Just us."

Lightning smirked, amused with her crafty sister.

"Exams are next week," she helpfully reminded Serah.

"We'll study on the train," Serah said, waving it off.

Lightning laughed a little, but stopped when she realized something.

"Has your period started, Serah?" she asked, already sounding worried.

"It just did tonight," Serah said, "but I'll be okay, Claire."

Lightning frowned, but knew nothing short of life-threatening danger was going to change her sister's mind.

"If it hurts so much you can't walk, I'm taking you home," she warned, with a scowl to match.

"Okay," Serah willingly conceded with a smile.

Satisfied, Lightning nodded and reached past Serah to the bedside table.

"I'm going to do some reading before bed," she told her sister, grabbing the datalog that was on the table.

"Is that your phone?" Serah asked, pointing at the other object on the table.

Opening the datalog, Lightning glanced at it and said, "No, it's Fang's. She left it at work last week and I told Vanille I'd get it for her if she missed work."

Curious, Serah picked up the phone, the device promptly activating and displaying the desktop.

"Fang... doesn't have a password on her phone? No identity scanners installed?" the younger Farron mumbled, stupefied.

Lightning's lips curved upwards, though her eyes remained on the projected files from the datalog.

"No. She doesn't care much for it, it seems, only uses it for its most basic functions."

"I see," Serah responded, sounding distracted. "Did you look through her phone, Claire?"

Lightning huffed, offended by the insinuation.

"Of course not."

Serah tapped the phone's screen, making it project an enlarged virtual display of its desktop. The background was a group picture that was taken two weeks ago, when they, along with Hope, went to the park with Fang and Vanille. In the picture, the five of them were sitting on the grass, Serah, Lightning, Fang, Vanille and Hope from left to right.

"It's so easy to tell this was taken after you raced with Fang," Serah remarked, smiling at the picture.

Glancing at the display, Lightning asked, "Why is it easy to tell?"

"Because you were smiling."

Lightning blinked, then gave her full attention to the picture.

"So it seems," she noted nonchalantly. "Vanille chose that background, if I recall. It used to be a picture of a wyrm Fang took herself."

"I see," Serah again said, and again sounded distracted. "She has unread messages and voicemail."

"Not surprising," Lightning murmured, turning her attention back to her files and browsing through documents.

"I see the ones from you."

Lightning's hand froze in the air, the document she selected left unopened.

"You know I tried to contact her, Serah," she calmly pointed out, managing to regain to composure.

"I know," Serah chimed, in a tone that sent a chill up Lightning's spine, her sister's intentions made clear to her.

Serah tapped the phone's screen, the projection winking out. Her index finger hovered over the flashing notice of unread messages and voicemail.

"Serah," she warned with a growl, "don't."

"I don't think Fang would mind," Serah practically sang.

"It's invasion of privacy, Serah," Lightning hissed, glaring at her sister.

"I'm only curious about your messages, Claire."

"That makes no difference."

"But, Claire, I'm your sister! You have nothing to hide from me, don't you?"

"That doesn't matter. It's private, Serah."

Serah pouted, looking at her with big, pleading blue eyes. Lightning only sneered, utterly immune to it. The sisters looked to be at a standstill until, a full minute later, Serah sighed and held out Fang's phone in defeat.

"Here you go, Claire," Serah mumbled shamefully. "I'm sorry. I thought it was harmless fun."

"It's all right, Serah," Lightning said, reaching to take the phone.

Then it happened in a blink. The phone gone and sowas Serah, and Lightning was left sitting on her bed, grasping at air and staring at the empty spot where her sister had been.

"Serah!" she roared, leaping to her feet and out of the room, quick enough to catch her traitorous sister's backside disappearing into Hope and Dajh's room.

With a snarl, Lightning dashed through the hall and stopped by the doorway, finding Serah hiding behind a very confused-looking Hope.

"Uh," Hope started, "hey, Light."

"Hi, Light!" Dajh squeaked, waving from his bed, the chocobo chick on his head. "Are you and Serah playing?"

"Yes, we are, Dajh," Lightning calmly answered the boy, sidestepping Hope and grabbing Serah by the wrist. "Give me the phone. Now," she muttered to her sheepish-looking sister.

"I've never played that game before!" Dajh cluelessly exclaimed. "Can I play next? Give Light the phone, Serah! Give her the phone!"

"Smart boy," Lightning remarked, giving her sister a pointed look. "Give me the phone, Serah."

Serah looked at Lightning, then at the phone clutched to her chest.

"You're no fun, Claire," the younger Farron eventually grumbled, relinquishing the prize.

Lightning took Fang's phone back and let Serah go.

"No, I'm not," she said, then, instead of leaving, she held up another phone, all securities bypassed.

Serah balked, recognizing it immediately.

"H-how did you-" Serah blurted, hands searching pockets that were empty.

"Dajh," Lightning called, ignoring her sputtering sister. "Serah will play with you," she told the boy, tossing her sister's phone on his bed. "You have to run because she's going to try to catch you."

"Okay, Light!" Dajh dutifully chirped, diving for the phone and then scurrying out of the room. "Catch me, Serah! Catch me!"

As Dajh ran past a still gawking Serah, two new voices were heard from the hallway.

"Oh, Dajh," came Nora's surprised voice.

"Hi, Mommy! I'm playing a game with Serah!"

"Really, now?" Sazh's chuckle rang. "What's that you've got there, son? Is that Serah's phone? Let me see that for a second, Dajh. Huh, she sure has been talking to that Snow fella a lot..."

Serah let out a rare curse and ran out shouting, "Don't look at it, Uncle! That's private!"

Lightning allowed herself a small, self-satisfied smirk, while Hope looked at her, then at the doorway where Serah had just passed through.

"I don't want to know," he wisely decided.

* * *

The next day, the sisters went to the train station and arrived at Lake Bresha without incident. From the lake, it was a half hour walk through the woods to get to one of the ponds Serah had talked about.

Standing at the edge of the pond, Lightning put down the case she had been carrying and carefully pulled out a glass tank from inside it.

"It's a good thing we didn't come at a later hour," Serah said, looking around warily. "I don't think there's anyone else out here. I wouldn't have wanted to be in a place like this at night."

"We'll be heading back soon enough," Lightning assured her sister, taking the tank and filling a quarter of it with pond water. "Start picking out what you like, Serah," she said, nodding at the rich spread of water-willows stretching across a good part of the pond.

"Okay," Serah absently replied, finishing pulling on long gloves that went up to her arms.

Lightning squatted in front of the tank, hitting a sequence of keys on the keypad found on the base, where there was machinery within. A gentle whirr started up and chemicals were released from the bottom of the tank as she made further adjustments to the tank's settings, making sure would survive for a long time, well beyond the trip to Palumpolum.

Seeing Serah picking up a handful of bright, healthy-looking water-willows, Lightning put on her own pair of gloves and joined her sister. It was another half hour and two other ponds later when the sisters finished gathering their choice of water-willows.

"How long do we have to wait before we can seal it?" Serah asked as she watched her sister place in the tank the last water-willow they had both picked.

Lightning tapped a key to display a timer for acclimation.

"Fifteen minutes," she read, pulling her gloves off and putting them in the plastic bag Serah was holding up.

"Not long, that's good," Serah said, packing the gloves in the bag she had brought with them. "It looks like it really might rain," the younger Farron noted, looking up at the slightly darker, more cloudy sky.

Lightning followed her sister's gaze.

"It looks like," she agreed, "I did notice the wind picking up earlier," she said, just as a breeze blew by, strong enough to lift Serah's long hair.

They sat on the ground near the tank, generously rubbing their hands with sanitizer. Serah rummaged through the other bag they had brought with them, coming up with drinks and snacks. Thanking Serah and twisting the cap off a bottle of water, Lightning eagerly took a swig, but she stopped when she noticed the snack her sister had chosen.

"Jerky?" she mumbled, eyes darting to the label. "Oretoise jerky?"

"I like it," Serah chimed, plucking out a strip. "I tried one when Vanille bought that big bag for Fang. It's good, Claire."

"It is," Lightning affirmed, taking a strip for herself.

"I still wish we let her eat an actual meal," Serah lamented, guilty. "I keep wondering if that one thing, if a fuller stomach, could have stopped her from snapping at Snow."

"We can't say for sure what really made Fang do that," Lightning stated, looking pensive, but she was startled when Serah suddenly cursed, making it twice in two days. "Serah? What's wrong?"

"I messed up," Serah bemoaned, eyeing the jerky as though it had betrayed her. "I took you out here today because you seemed so stressed out over Fang. I didn't want you to stop," her sister rambled, "I didn't want you to stop caring, I just thought you needed a little break from it, and here I am, talking about oretoise jerky and Fang and Snow's bruised, beautiful face."

Lightning blinked, completely unprepared for the deluge of words and feelings. She was well aware that her sister was prone to wild, extreme moods this time of the month, but it happened so rarely that it still caught her by surprise every now and then, now, especially.

"It's all right, Serah," she started to say.

"No, it's not," Serah cut in, frowning. "I just wanted you to relax for a little bit, to enjoy yourself instead of worrying about Fang or exams or me."

"Serah," Lightning said, more firmly, and reached for her sister's hand. "It's all right," she repeated, looking Serah in the eye. "And... thank you," she whispered, still feeling awkward when it came to talks like this. "I'm having a really good time."

Serah, finally relaxing, looked at her in surprise.

"Really?"

Lightning nodded.

"I'm glad you brought me here, Serah."

* * *

When the fifteen minutes were up, Lightning eased the tank back into the case and closed it, making certain it was secure. Serah gathered the empty water bottles and leftover snacks and they both donned the jackets they had brought along. Then they were off, taking the trail through the woods that would lead back to Lake Bresha.

"We should make it before it rains," Lightning said, turning to Serah as the strong wind blew by.

"I hope so," Serah murmured, pulling the jacket's hood over her head and reaching for something in the back pocket of her pants.

Lightning blinked when she saw her sister pull out what remained of the jerky.

"I'm still hungry," Serah told her, "and it's really good. Want one?"

Laughing, Lightning shook her head.

"I think I've had enough."

"More for me, then," Serah chimed, taking another strip before stuffing the pack of jerky in her back pocket.

The wind came rushing again, stronger, the air colder, the sky darker. Serah shivered, then zipped her jacket all the way up. Lightning switched the case to her other hand and used her now free hand to draw Serah close.

"Isn't that heavy, Claire?" Serah shakily asked, trying to make small talk in an attempt to not worry her.

"A little," Lightning murmured, keeping her arm around her sister's shoulders until the shivering subsided.

At the halfway mark, they saw a figure standing in the path.

"Oh," Serah murmured with surprise and relief, "someone else is here."

Lightning had a more cautious reaction, stepping in front of Serah and taking the lead. When they got close enough, they saw that it was a woman. The woman noticed them and began to head their way, greeting them with a smile.

"Hello, girls," the woman said amiably, the melodic tone in her voice reminding Lightning of the way Lebreau spoke sometimes. "Are you two here by yourselves?"

"We're-" Serah started to respond, but was abruptly stopped when Lightning reached back to grab her wrist.

Lightning looked at the stranger, searching for a GC badge on her person and finding none. The woman had blonde hair, silver like Hope and Nora's. Her skin was incredibly pale, but she didn't look the least bit ill. Her eyes were hidden behind sunglasses she had no need to wear.

"We were just passing by, ma'am," Lightning curtly informed the woman, refusing to answer the question.

"Are you girls lost?" the woman asked pleasantly, removing her sunglasses and revealing her incredibly red eyes. "I can help you."

"No," Lightning snapped, finding no more reason to be polite to a suspicious stranger who wouldn't even give them a name. "We know where to go," she said, taking Serah's hand and keeping herself between this stranger and her sister.

"I can help you," the woman repeated, undeterred.

Lightning blinked, thinking she was seeing things just then. She looked again, but it was still there. The woman's eyes, the woman's red eyes, had turned black.

It's nothing, she told herself. Focus on getting out of here, of keeping Serah safe.

The woman smiled, a smile that showed her teeth, a smile that showed two long, sharp fangs.

Lightning didn't know what to do except to run. But Serah couldn't run. She couldn't run.

"Hey, Lightning! Serah!"

Freezing at the voice, Lightning chanced to look over her shoulder and found Snow jogging up to them, decked out in a bandana, an eyepatch and a trenchcoat. He reached them quickly, smartly stepping in front of the woman, towering over her with his greater height.

"Snow," Serah belatedly gasped.

Snow sent a grin and a wink Serah's way before fixing his attention back on the stranger.

"They're with me," he told the woman.

Lightning sharply turned to Snow.

"You know this woman?"

Laughing, the stranger sauntered over to Snow and leaned close, staring at his eyes and smirking.

"Snow, is it?" she purred. "I'd make better use of them. The little one smells so sweet, doesn't she?"

"Snow," Lightning said evenly as she placed the case on the ground, then moved closer to Serah, backing off with her, "what is she talking about?"

Snow looked at her with intense, startling determination.

"I'll keep you and Serah safe, Lightning. I promise."

The woman cackled and shoved Snow with surprising strength, sending his large frame stumbling back.

"This is our territory," she taunted, her expression darkening, her face twisting as she hissed, baring her fangs. "These girls are ours now. You have no say in what happens to them."

The woman appeared to lunge, and then she disappeared. An instant later, Snow wheezed, doubling over. The woman was suddenly in front of him, her knee buried in his gut. Striking him again, she flung him into a tree and dashed after him, grabbing him by the throat.

Hearing Serah gasp Snow's name, Lightning continued to back her sister away. Ignoring her racing heart, she fumbled for her phone. There should be a GC patrol around the area. She could call for help while the woman was distracted.

"Claire!"

Lightning whipped around at Serah's sudden scream, finding two men standing behind them, their skin pale, eyes black and lips peeled back in hideous snarls to show unnatural fangs. They said nothing, quick hands darting out for Serah. Lightning yanked her sister away as hard as she could, trying to shield her when another scream, a loud, hideous wail, rang out.

The woman, Lightning thought, just barely registering what had happened as she braced herself. Their fingers barely grazed her upraised arm before they were tackled to the ground by Snow.

"Don't run! There might be more of them!" Snow shouted, mercilessly pummeling both men with his bloody fists. "Just stay close to me, I'll try to-"

He was cut off, knocked forward and slammed into the ground. It was the woman, her face mangled and cut deep, gushing blood. She tried to pin him but Snow moved fast, so fast Lightning was sure she didn't see it, and the woman took chase. Lightning saw nothing but a brief clash of two blurs, the impact so loud that the nearby trees seemed to shake.

Seeing the two men stir, Lightning pulled Serah roughly away, trying to put Snow between them and her sister. Snow reappeared briefly, snapping one man's neck and then grabbing for the other, but again the woman pounced, both of them fading from sight.

"C-Claire," Serah whimpered, tearing up in fright, "what-what do we do? What do we do? We can't leave Snow behind! He's... he's..."

Lightning instinctively drew Serah into her arms, shushing her sister and reminding her to calm down and breathe.

"We'll call for help," she murmured soothingly, keeping a steady voice for Serah's sake. "I'm going to do that, all right, Serah?" she told her sister, trying to keep track of the attackers and wishing desperately for a gun, a weapon, anything. "Just hold on to me and try to relax. A Corps cruiser will find us. We just need to tell them where we are."

As she spoke, she dug through her pocket for a phone, irritated that her hand was still shaking.

A man's leering face suddenly sprang in front of her, the man whose neck was broken. Lightning swung blindly at him, hitting nothing but air, then dropped to the ground with Serah and rolling away, just barely avoiding the other man's attempt at grabbing them.

"Stay behind me, Serah!" she yelled, her gorge rising at the sight of the man stalking her with his neck grotesquely angled.

Serah said something she couldn't hear, something soft and terrified. Lightning steeled herself, knowing that she couldn't fight whatever was attacking them. Her world narrowed down to simply protecting her sister as best she could.

The two men loomed over them, black eyes gleaming with hunger. Lightning glared at them, refusing to cower. Then her eyes widened at what she saw over their shoulders.

A large, red wolf leaped out of the woods and barrelled right into the two men, its massive jaws snapping close over one man's torso as the other was trampled, crushed by the beast's weight.

Lightning gaped at the sight of the wolf, which had to be the size of a behemoth and certainly weighed as much as one by the way the earth was shaking as it stamped the men. She hurried to her feet and carried Serah away, keeping her sister's back turned as the wolf ripped the two men apart, their agonized screams making her blood run cold.

The beast was ruthless and relentless, stopping only when the men had been reduced to scattered, unrecognizable lumps of flesh, which Lightning had the misfortune of confirming when she looked to check. Her stomach churned at the sight and she hoped the wolf would be too busy with their attackers to remember them.

Snow jumped down from the top of a tall tree and landed with ease, rushing over to the sisters. He looked bloody and beaten but moved nothing like it.

"You two okay?" he asked, checking to see if they were hurt.

He was so concerned and focused on them that he didn't notice the large wolf charging his way.

"Snow!" Lightning yelled, clutching Serah tighter and backing away.

Snow blinked and turned around, finding himself face to face with an angry, growling wolf.

"Shit," he swore, backpedalling a few steps, nearly tripping in his haste, and holding his hands up. "Hey, hey, easy there. Take it easy, okay?" he said to the beast, speaking slowly and evenly, as though he was speaking to a child. "I'm not like them. You can tell by the smell, right? Here," he offered, shrugging off his tattered coat and presenting the back of his hand to the wolf.

"Are you insane?" Lightning snapped.

The wolf seemed to think so because it bared its fangs back in a snarl, showing off very large and very sharp teeth. Lightning's mouth went a bit dry at the sight of blood staining what would probably be normally white teeth, but she only held Serah tighter and hoped Snow's stupidity didn't get all of them killed.

Snow held up his other hand to her.

"It's okay, Lightning," he told her, not taking his eyes off the beast.

The wolf looked at Lightning and Serah, eyes lingering on Lightning, and looked back at Snow, then at his hand. Grunting, it leaned forward, sniffing once and then rearing its head back, as though offended by the smell. Snow seemed pleased with this and said something to the beast that Lightning couldn't hear.

Serah, who had been watching, looked up at Lightning, who understood the silent request and gently set her down, stepping in front of her once she was steady on her feet.

"Snow," the younger Farron called, peeking over Lightning's shoulder, "what's going on? Do you know this wolf? You... you shouldn't get so close to it," Serah whispered frightfully, gulping as she watched the way it towered over Snow, noticing all too well the size difference. "It looks hungry," she said feebly.

"She's not gonna hurt either of you. You want Lightning and Serah safe, right? I want that, too," he said, lowering his hand. "You know they can't stay here. The one I was fighting got away and there's gonna be more of them soon. You need to let me leave with Lightning and Serah."

Snow took another step back, this time towards Lightning and Serah. The wolf tensed, and when he took another step, it snarled, ears folding flat and headbutted into him viciously, sending him to the ground. Snow groaned, but the wolf didn't follow through with another attack. It - or she, as Snow had called her - only stood over him and glowered, looking very ill-tempered.

"Snow!" Serah cried.

"I'm okay!" Snow shouted, trying to sit up, but the wolf growled and bared its teeth again. "I didn't hurt them," he calmly told the wolf, his hand nursing his smashed forehead. "If you don't wanna believe me, go see for yourself. I'm staying right here, I swear."

The wolf stopped and looked at the sisters, seeming to have understood Snow.

"Snow, what are you doing!" Lightning shouted.

"She's not gonna hurt you, Lightning," Snow promised, speaking with conviction. "I know it sounds crazy but you've gotta trust me on this. She's not gonna hurt you two. She attacked those guys to protect you."

Lightning looked from Snow to the wolf, which slowly approached them. The beast was truly massive. As it neared them, Lightning began to appreciate its size up close. The wolf, on all fours, stood taller than her. As it continued to step forward Lightning shifted to put her body between the wolf and her sister, holding Serah back with one arm.

The wolf blinked its green eyes at her, as if expecting something from her, but Lightning stared back it, her eyes narrowing at the beast. Its hackles no longer raised, it didn't look nearly as frightening as before, but its sheer size was intimidating on its own.

With a whine, the wolf lowered its head and nudged her upraised hand with its wet, black nose, tucking its snout under her palm. Lightning tried not to cringe at the feel of the sticky blood that coated the wolf's muzzle.

The wolf lowered its head more, sliding her hand further until it was resting between its ears.

"Claire," Serah whispered shakily, "I... I think it wants to be petted."

Lightning stared at her hand, shocked by how small it was compared to the wolf. Her hand was the size of its nose, and the beast's head alone was twice the size of her torso. Heeding her sister's suggestion, she tentatively stroked its head, stopping just past its ear to gauge a reaction. The wolf rumbled, nudging her hand. Lightning stroked its head again, not stopping this time, absently noting how soft its rich, dark red fur felt.

The wolf's tail was wagging, she realized, acting nothing like the vicious beast that had killed two men. But then it stopped, suddenly lifting its head and sniffing curiously. Its green eyes lit up, the only warning the sisters had, before the wolf ducked its head again, sliding past Lightning and bumping Serah with its nose.

"Claire!" Serah squeaked, gluing herself to Lightning's back, arms wrapped tight around her sister's waist.

Lightning turned to face the wolf to keep Serah away, but it was quick, especially for its size, and already it was behind Serah, sniffing frantically at her sister. Lightning attempted to move again but the wolf was stubborn. She was about to back Serah up against the tree when her sister shrieked, the wolf's nose poking at her backside.

"Hey!" Lightning barked, trying to get the beast's attention. "Stop that! Get away from her!"

The wolf ignored her and snorted against Serah's back pocket, rumbling in frustration.

"No!" Serah squeaked, feeling violated, her face red with mortification. "Stop sniffing there! Stop! Claire, make it stop!"

"Serah, your food!" Snow called from his spot, not quite hiding his amusement. "She wants the food in your pocket!"

"Serah, the jerky," Lightning prompted, remembering. "Give it the jerky."

"O-okay," Serah stuttered, blindly reaching back to fish out the snack and tossing it as far as she could.

The wolf shot after it, devouring all the jerky and the plastic bag it came with. Licking its lips, it trotted back to the sisters, looking very happy, if its wagging tail was any indication. Lightning stood her ground as the wolf drew near, easing Serah's arms off her waist and holding her sister back, away from the beast.

The wolf blinked those green eyes at her again, its face inches from hers. Then Lightning saw it too late, and all she could do was turn her cheek as the wolf licked her face, its large, wet tongue leaving behind a thick trail of drool and a stench of blood, death and oretoise jerky.

For a moment, Lightning simply stood there, in horror, in shock. She could feel the muscles in her face twitching, probably contorting into some bizarre expression at what just happened. Something rose up in her throat and she was afraid that she was going to lose her lunch, but instead, what came up was a sound that could only be described as a cross between utter revulsion and distaste. Even Snow and Serah had fallen silent, staring in mute shock.

"That's disgusting," she suddenly spat, unable to help herself.

The wolf whined in dismay, immediately lowering its head and flattening its ears, looking up at her contritely. If Lightning didn't know better, or if she wasn't shuddering in disgust at the moment and wiping her face with her sleeve, she would have thought that the wolf seemed like it was apologizing and asking for forgiveness.

"Satisfied yet?" she snapped, forgetting herself in her tattered dignity to realize the ridiculous situation, like how she was talking to a wolf like it could understand. "We're not hurt. Let Snow take us home. You heard what he said, there are more coming. It's not safe to stay here."

The wolf stopped whining, the pitiful look in its eyes gone, replaced by the hardened look of a predator. With a grunt, it turned around and went to the water-willows the sisters had gathered. It carefully picked up the case, grasping it by the handle with its teeth and brought it to her, laying it at her feet.

Go, the wolf seemed to tell her.

Snow stood up and suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere again, which Lightning was getting a little tired of, but with Maqui and Yuj at his side this time. Lightning observed the three Villiers with some surprise, her brow furrowing in confusion as they spoke briefly. Their eyes were amber, not red or black. She focused on Snow, finally given the chance. His eyepatch was gone, and despite all his other injuries, a black eye wasn't one of them.

The wolf stared the Villiers down, upper lip twitching and curling back. From the woods, two more wolves emerged, one gray, one brown, both even larger than the red wolf. They flanked the red wolf, but not looking nearly as wary. They looked at Lightning and Serah for a moment too long, then focused their attention on the Villiers.

"We need to leave now," Maqui said, already making his way to Serah. "They're going to be here any second. We'll take you both to the train station."

Not asking for permission, Maqui easily lifted Serah off the ground.

"Maqui...?" Serah mumbled, confused.

Her face was ashen with exhaustion from the roller coaster of events. She looked blankly at the ground, clearly wondering how her diminutive friend could pick her up so easily.

Maqui gave her an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Serah. We can talk when you're both safe."

Snow approached Lightning, who glared at him in response.

"Relax, Lightning, I'm not gonna carry you," he told her, chuckling and picking up the case of water-willows. "I'd get blood on your clothes and we don't wanna leave you at the station looking like that. Yuj will carry you."

Lightning looked around for the red wolf, glimpsing a plumed red tail just as it disappeared into the woods with the two bigger wolves.

"Where are they going?" she asked.

"To fight the ones who are coming," Yuj replied, carrying her with the same ease Maqui did with Serah. "They'll be fine," he assured her.

Lightning glanced at where the wolves have disappeared. The sky had gone completely dark. It was going to rain soon and the wind was picking up.

"You better explain this," she muttered to Yuj, holding on to him and checking to see if Serah was secure with Maqui.

"We'll answer what we can," Yuj said, and with a nod to Maqui, he sped along the trail leading back to Lake Bresha, moving so fast they made it to the train station before the first drop fell.

* * *

Later, after a stop at home for a very thorough shower and a change of clothes, Lightning and Serah were at NORA, sitting at a table outside as they waited for the cafe to close.

"You should have stayed home, Serah," Lightning told her weary yet stubborn-looking sister. "You're pale and you're in pain. I can tell you're having cramps right now," she said, a last and likely futile attempt to change her sister's mind.

"I feel well enough, Claire," Serah retorted with a huff, "and I'm not leaving you here alone. I'm sorry if I'm making you worry," came the sincere apology, "but I worry about you, too."

Lightning sighed, knowing she couldn't win this argument.

"I know."

She watched as the Villiers attended to the few remaining customers, charming and dazzling as ever. They blended in well, people were drawn to them, even attracted to them. How many were out there, Lightning wondered, were like the Villiers. How much more, she thought, were like the woman in the forest.

The Villiers helped them and saved their lives, but still Lightning had a stun gun on her belt and a knife in her pocket. She didn't know what they were. She didn't know, besides the color of their eyes, how else they were different from that woman and those men.

"I wonder if the family would believe us if we told them what happened," Serah murmured, her eyes also on the Villiers as she spoke aloud the one thing they had both been thinking since boarding the train at Lake Bresha's station.

"I don't know," Lightning said. "It sounds too ridiculous. We're not even sure what really happened."

"It does sound crazy," Serah agreed, "but they did promise to talk to us. It should clear things up."

Lightning nodded, thinking that coming here had been one of two choices. They could have gone home and went on with their lives, pretending the incident in the forest never happened. It would have been easier that way, so much simpler, but something pulled at her, something Serah also seemed to feel. They wanted to know about the Villiers and those strangers and those wolves. They had to know.

* * *

When the last car left the NORA parking lot, the Villiers approached their table, Lebreau and Yuj leading the group. Serah smiled at them, friendly but cautious. Lightning wasn't feeling as pleasant, instead simply regarding the Villiers expectantly, waiting for them to speak.

"It's good to see you both are safe," Lebreau said, sounding earnest. "Would you like to come inside to talk?"

"We'd rather stay here," Lightning replied, her tone making it clear it wasn't a request.

"I thought as much," Lebreau remarked with a smile. "We should move tables."

They moved to one of the bigger tables, the Villiers all sitting on one side and the Farron sisters at the other. Lightning glanced at Snow, no longer with the eyepatch, not seeing a single bruise or cut on his face or arms. Serah followed her gaze, eyes widening at Snow.

"Snow, your injuries," Serah breathed, "they're all gone?"

"Sort of," Snow answered nervously, attempting a smile that looked awkward. "The minor ones are gone, yeah, but I'm still pretty sore in some places."

"You heal fast?" Serah murmured, brows furrowing. "So, your concussion and your bruises from Fang...?"

Snow could only frown and look at Serah pleadingly. Lightning narrowed her eyes in disbelief, already set on edge by thoughts of what else the Villiers had kept from them.

"I think it would be better if we started off somewhere else," Yuj suggested, turning to Lightning. "What would you like to know?"

Serah looked at her sister, clearly allowing her to take the lead. Lightning looked over all their faces and saw only open and expectant expressions. For some reason, that further annoyed her. She recognized the feeling as pure suspicion, so she took a moment to speak, considering how to word her question.

"Are you..." she paused, hesitating but also realizing she could not say it a better way. "Are you human?"

Nothing showed on Lebreau, Yuj and Maqui's faces, but Snow and Gadot looked sullen and regretful.

"We used to be," Yuj was the one to say, his tone nonchalant as though he was reciting the special of the day. "We were changed into what we are now by others like us."

"Like that woman?" Serah asked, shuddering still at the memory, and Lightning gripped her hand under the table in comfort. "And those men?"

"Why were they after us?" Lightning pressed. "What did they want?"

Lebreau was the one who answered.

"They wanted your blood," she said frankly, and Serah shuddered again.

Lightning almost scoffed.

"What?" she snapped, incredulous. "What for? Were they criminals? Unstable?"

"Why?" Serah whispered, confused.

Again it was Lebreau who answered them, an eerie coldness in her eyes and voice.

"Our kind feeds on blood. Most, on human blood. Our changed bodies are stronger, faster and tougher than a normal human, but we can't digest food or water, just blood. The ones you encountered in the forest would have bitten you-"

"Bitten?" Lightning cut in.

"It's how we feed," Maqui explained. "We use our fangs to puncture the skin and draw blood."

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the Villiers.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" she said, torn between temper and disbelief.

Snow and Gadot avoided her eyes. Lebreau looked almost languid leaning against her chair with her arms crossed while Yuj's face was set in serious lines. Maqui seemed to look between the two and appear a little uneasy.

"I've never heard of such things," Lightning snapped. "Feeding on blood? Super strength? It sounds absolutely ridiculous, like some fairy tale to scare small children. I want answers, especially when both of us nearly got killed just a few hours ago and you just miraculously showed up."

Serah stared at Lightning, her eyes wide at her outburst. Lightning didn't look back at her sister, her gaze focused on the Villiers.

"I know it's a little hard to believe," Yuj admitted. "And I'm sorry, perhaps we're not explaining this very well. This is certainly a unique situation," he tried to smile reassuringly, but it came off looking strained.

"Well, you're right to not believe it," Lebreau chimed, staring right back at Lightning, her eyes never flinching. "Any sane person wouldn't. But it's true and you'll just have to take our word for it."

"You don't have fangs," came a quiet observation, and everybody turned to Serah. The younger Farron seemed to almost cringe under the combined attention, but said, "If... if you're like them, why don't you have fangs?"

"We'll explain that later," Lebreau assured her, giving her a kindly smile that, indeed, showed no fangs, only perfect, white human-looking teeth. "You would have been bitten," she continued. "Where or how depends on what they wanted to do to you. They could have killed you, kept you or turned you."

"Keeping humans is what most do these days," Yuj said, saving either Farron the trouble of asking. "They just take enough blood to feel satisfied and let the human recover. It's efficient in that they'll have a constant source of blood. It's not entirely one-sided, either, since these humans become enthralled once bitten. It's like a high from a drug."

Lightning made a sound of disgust. Yuj nodded in understanding.

"It may sound repugnant, but it's not uncommon. Better that way, even, since the human is kept alive and willing. No dead bodies to attract attention, no missing people to cause suspicion."

Serah squeezed Lightning's hand, her hand clammy with nerves and the effort of trying to keep the horror off her face.

"Turning you would mean changing you," Yuj went on, "making you like us. When we bite humans, we can choose to inject our venom in their blood. This is our sole means of increasing our numbers. The venom changed our bodies, as Lebreau has said, it heightened our senses and strengthened us, stopped aging the moment we turned and made us near impossible to kill, but it also made us unable to have children."

Serah shook her head.

"This is... really hard to believe. Even after what we've seen, I wouldn't have imagined any of this."

Lightning was pensive, attempting to process all this information. Those blood-feeding creatures in the forest had been hunting them. The woman had even toyed with them, hadn't even bothered with a convincing ploy. Humans were a resource to these things, be it for nutrition or reproduction. But the Villiers had saved them.

"Why did you help us?" she asked them, her free hand instinctively going to her stun gun.

"Whoa, Lightning," Gadot hurriedly said, the first time he had spoken since they sat down. "We ain't gonna hurt ya. We're your friends!" he exclaimed, either telling the truth or lying very well. "'Sides, we don't drink human blood. Just look at our eyes! You saw the others' eyes, didn't ya?"

"They were red," Lightning belatedly confirmed, still skeptical.

"There ya go," Gadot crowed, grinning. "Our eye color shows what kinda blood we feed on. Red is human, gold is animal."

"The men's eyes were black," Serah said, shuddering a little at the memory. "The woman's, too. Her red eyes turned black."

"Oh," Gadot mumbled, looking sheepish for forgetting to mention it. "Our eyes go black when we're hungry or thirsty, whatever you wanna call it."

"Why don't you... feed on humans?" Serah asked, still cautious but considerably relieved.

"We chose to," Lebreau replied, her tone casual, "and it's the condition for staying here."

"You're sharing Bodhum with another group?" Lightning guessed, recalling how the woman claimed the Bresha forest was her group's territory.

Lebreau nodded.

"Yes. They were here before us."

"They don't feed on humans, either?" Lightning questioned, finding it to be too convenient that the Villiers had found others like them.

"I'm sorry, but that's all we can say about them," Yuj said.

"Do you..." Serah trailed off, glancing at Snow, who was still uncharacteristically quiet. "Do you move from place to place often?"

"A few times per human lifetime," Yuj answered, sounding matter of fact. "We either have to leave because we can no longer keep up our current identities or another coven drives us out of the territory."

"I don't know how much comfort this is to know," Maqui told them, "but in Bodhum, you're safe from other covens."

"Are you saying it isn't safe for us to leave?" Lightning snarled, hating how helpless it made her feel. "If Snow hadn't been there-" she cut herself off, the realization finally hitting her.

Serah looked at her, mirroring her shock.

"Snow," her sister managed to say before her, "why were you there?"

Lightning glared at Snow.

"Were you following us?"

Snow bravely met her gaze and nodded.

"Why?" she demanded. "How did you even know where we were going? Did you tell him, Serah?"

"I..." Serah stammered, "I mentioned it to him, Claire, but I didn't think- I never thought he would do something like that."

"I wouldn't have," Snow protested, "but I just wanted to make sure you two would be okay. I even stayed as far away as I could. I just wanted to keep an eye on you, I swear, Serah, I wouldn't have followed you if..." he stopped, gesturing with hands.

Lightning looked at him strangely, then noticed that Gadot, Maqui and Yuj suddenly seemed very uncomfortable.

"You... should have been okay out there," Snow mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck, and Lightning could have sworn he was blushing. "The forest is huge and they probably wouldn't have picked up your scent if you weren't- if-" he stuttered, sneaking glances at Serah.

"If what?" Lightning spat, losing patience.

Lebreau, who had been evidently amused with Snow's sputtering, finally decided to give him some respite.

"If Serah wasn't on her period," the young woman said simply, and Serah's face immediately flamed while the boys politely didn't stare at her. "A bleeding human is like a beacon for our kind, usually triggers thirst, and that includes women on their periods. I'm not condoning Snow's methods, and he certainly could have handled things better, but his heart was in the right place."

"Your eyes aren't black," Lightning pointed out.

"We're wearing contacts right now," Lebreau chimed. "We usually do when we're working."

Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"You're all wearing amber contacts?"

Lebreau smiled.

"Saves us the hassle of being asked about it when we get a chance to take them off."

At this point, Serah was no longer listening, more intent on burying her face in Lightning's shirt and hoping to disappear. Lightning put an arm around Serah, tempted to order the Villiers to stop breathing around her sister.

"You still haven't told us why you don't have fangs," Lightning said, changing the subject for her sister's sake.

In truth, she was feeling fairly mortified for Serah as well. It made her uncomfortable thinking about her own upcoming monthly cycle.

"We blunt them," Yuj responded, causing Snow, Gadot and Maqui to wince. "It's not the most pleasant experience and, since we heal fast, we have to do this fairly regularly."

"Can't get by this business without a winning smile," Lebreau quipped, then gave the sisters one of her usual, charming smiles. "You two shouldn't worry about going out of town. There's less of us than you might think and we're desperate to keep our existence a secret. Today, you saw why. Humans aren't the only ones our kind is hiding from."

Lightning knew at once.

"The wolves," she said.

Serah turned towards the Villiers, the earlier embarrassment no match for her inquisitiveness.

"The wolves," Yuj echoed, nodding. "They're the reason why our kind is hiding amongst humans and not lording over them."

"Are they that dangerous?" Serah asked, eyes wide.

Lightning regarded Snow skeptically.

"You seemed to be getting along fine with that red wolf," she remarked. "Why didn't it attack like you? Did you know it?"

"Because he didn't smell like human blood," Yuj said. "The wolf didn't perceive him as a threat, not in a territory of a human-preying coven. He was, in comparison, an unpleasant nuisance."

Yuj then smiled in sympathy as Snow ducked down his head in embarrassment.

"Thanks, Bro," the blond muttered, making Yuj chuckle.

"It's all right, most of us think the same."

"Snow was talking to the wolf," Serah recalled, "and I think it understood him."

Yuj nodded.

"It did. These wolves are very intelligent."

Lightning stared at Yuj, trying to see if he was lying but he was hard to read. He was being careful with his words, a complete opposite to his blunt, almost callous, responses earlier.

"You're saying those wolves were there to kill off that coven?" she said, and Yuj nodded again. "Why were they after that coven specifically? Are they like you in a sense that they can only eat your kind?" she asked, scoffing at how ridiculous it sounded, even after everything she had heard today. "Those wolves were gigantic, how has no one seen or heard of them before?"

"They're from Pulse," Lebreau explained for the Villiers. "After the war, some managed to sneak into Cocoon through abandoned transgates and transpads. There's very few of them left, but one wolf alone can take down a coven of a dozen, probably more. Until all the wolves are dead, my kind won't make a single move to take over Cocoon."

"You're hunting them?" Lightning spat, with more anger and disgust she expected from herself.

Lebreau looked at her, as though studying her.

"No. We want no part of that."

"Is that why you're... avoiding human blood?" Serah timidly asked.

"It's one of the reasons," Lebreau admitted.

Lightning just about sneered, not pleased with the ambiguous answers.

"There's something you're not telling us," she accused.

"There's a lot we're not telling you," Lebreau outright told her, her smile as unreadable as her expression, "some of it because it's better not to say, things even we're helpless against, and the rest of it because it's not our place to say."

"I did say we'd answer what we could," Yuj added, "and it's better if you don't get too involved with us. We've told you enough to explain what had happened at the forest and why. You were owed the truth about that, at least."

Serah looked at each Villiers, seeming conflicted.

"You're not worried we'll tell other people about you?"

Snow, Gadot and Maqui were visibly concerned, but again, Lebreau and Yuj were deadpan. It was Lightning who answered her sister's question.

"No one would believe us, Serah," she said.

Serah glanced at Snow, who shrugged sheepishly.

"I guess not," she whispered.

"It looks like we're done here," Lightning decided, not even sparing the Villiers a glance.

She tried to stand, but stopped when she realized her hand was still on her stun gun. Letting go of it, she got to her feet.

"Let's go, Serah."

"Get home safely, you two," Lebreau said in that motherly tone.

"You're always welcome here," Yuj added, sounding sincere.

Serah looked at the Villiers one more time, seeming to want to say something, but instead she took Lightning's hand and they left NORA without another word.

**.**

**Note:**

The water-willow tank is nothing but a lame stall tactic and its vague, poorly thought out mechanics are better off ignored.

Made the wolves much bigger, an adjustment to them being Pulse-born.

Made some tweaks to the vampires, covens being more common, fangs, no blood frenzy when feeding and being able to bleed to name a few. These changes are not a claim of being better than Twilight or any other vampire lore, they were made simply because it suited this fusion of universes better.

Big, big thanks to **Calore** (u/2493108) for salvaging the fight/wolf scenes and polishing the final scene.


End file.
